The Tiger and the Bird
by Moofin
Summary: I really wasn't planning on falling for literally the craziest guy on the island; I really wasn't. Even so, I wasn't gunna let him get the better of me. He'd see just how easy I could be. (VaasxOC with you as OC, M for language and eventual sex scenes.)
1. Departure

**A/N: You guys... you guys, I just... I can't stop falling for the bad guys. **

**This story is only here because I have the biggest crush on the bad guy from Far Cry 3, Vaas Montenegro. **

**I want to start off by saying...**

**HOLY CRAP. You guys, Far Cry 3 is one of the most amazing games I have played. It is ridiculously fantastically fun. The graphics are stunning, the voice acting is downright amazing, and the story is interesting. If you haven't played it, I can't recommend it enough! Play it!**

**That being said, I hope you enjoy this story. I just couldn't get Vaas out of my head, so I really had to make a short story with him and an OC. Please don't take it too seriously or anything; just have fun with it. I sure am! If you don't enjoy it, that's okay, because it's not a main project. Just enjoy it for enjoyment's sake. ;)**

**This is also written in a style that I've just recently started to take on. That is, it's written in first person. Not because it's how I enjoy writing (actually, I can't deny that...) but because the main character is _you._ Her backstory? It's your backstory. Her name? It's your name, amigo. I don't think Vaas should be for one single person; he should be shared. So, here you go; this is for you. _He..._ is for you. ;)**

**All right. I'll let you go on, then. I hope you enjoy! More up soon.**

* * *

Now, it started like this: I remember I was sitting at my computer, and I could have sworn I heard like footsteps or something. I turned down my blaring music and cocked an ear. I waited, listening, trying to hear it again. I couldn't hear anything, so I turned the music back up.

I was singing the song under my breath aimlessly as I looked back and forth between my typing hands and the screen. I was just working on some tiny stuff, side stories and whatnot. Fiction was what I did in my spare time. Sometimes I thought I just had an overactive imagination; other times I told myself it was my inner creativity shining through. I prefer the latter.

I was just starting a part of the story where the main character was about to walk into a trap (the most exciting part of the story and most fun for me to write) when of course, I was interrupted by the doorbell. I rolled my eyes and sighed. Why was it that whenever I was right in the middle of something I enjoyed, it got interrupted? Whether it was the phone ringing, my little brother shouting, or the dog sprinting through the house, there was always something loud to interrupt my favorite times.

I sighed again, reread the sentence I just wrote, then stood up. I left my room and could see out the living room window. There was one of those big white vans sitting in my driveway. My friends and I jokingly call them either creeper mobiles or rape vans; I'm sure you know the ones I'm talking about.

So, a rape van sitting in my driveway. It put me a little on edge, because… well, I have an overactive imagination, and I was the only one home. I walked to the front door and peeked out.

Some dude was standing there. He looked… I don't know, Asian maybe. Really dark skin, though. He was a real generic looking guy, nothing discernible about him. He had a red hat on and baggy cargo pants. This dude looked sketchy. I opened the front door and he gave me a half smile. I peered at him through the screen door. "Can I help you?" I asked tentatively, glancing at the van.

"Yes, I was wondering if you could fill out a short survey for me," he said with a thick accent. Mexican, I think. A Mexican Asian? Things were starting to get weird.

My brow furrowed. "Uh, no, prolly not today. Sorry," I said, starting to close the door.

"Please, senorita. It's simple, just a few questions. Nothing difficult." That ever present half-smile. It was freaking me out. His persistence kinda scared me, too.

"No thank you, I don't have time to do that today."

"Are you sure?" he tried to peer around me into my house and I closed the door even further. "It will really only take just a few moments. I promise it won't be a problem."

"No, no. Sorry." I closed the door and let out the breath I had. I stood there for a few seconds, and then peeked out the window again. He was still standing there. He tilted his head just a little and slid his jaw as if he couldn't believe I just closed the door on him. But then, he smiled again, shook his head, crossed his arms, and just stood there. I moved away from the door. Why wasn't he leaving?

This was really starting to freak me out. I decided that I should probably have some sort of weapon, just in case. I patted my pocket for my ever-present pocket knife, but I was wearing pocketless jeans today. My knife was still sitting on my headboard. I turned to walk back to my room, then froze dead in my tracks.

"Hola, chica. Having a nice day?"

The blood drained from my face. A guy was standing between me and my bedroom. Who the fuck—_HOW_ the fuck… I turned my head sharply, eyes still on him. There were knives in the kitchen. I could grab one. I looked at him again.

He was taller than me, 5'10" or so. A lot better built than me, too. His muscular arms were crossed across his chest. He had dark skin and black hair that was mostly shaved except for a short Mohawk. An ominous scar ran from his left eye back. He had an oddly perfect white smile, and had thick black gauges in his ears. He wore a simple outfit of a red tank, a few bracelets and necklaces made of hemp and twine, and a black ribbon around his arm. He had camo green cargo pants with some cool-looking belt. Strapped to his leg was a pistol.

I swallowed and looked back at his face. As much as I was afraid of this random fucking guy in my house, there was that one stupid, stupid part of me that said he was drop dead gorgeous. As soon as the thought came to me, I knew that I was in trouble. He had a fucking gun on his leg, for fuck's sake. And he was a strange dude _in my house_. Hot as fuck, but who the hell was he?

I turned my head a little again. "Who… what are you doing in my house?" I asked a little shakily.

His smile got bigger, and he laughed. "We want you to take our survey of course," he said in that same accent, starting to saunter over to me. I kept the coffee table between us as I inched towards the kitchen. He stopped walking and his smile fell. He tsked at me. "No, no, you don't want to do that. I can see it, see it right here;" he pointed to his eyes, "I see what you're thinking, senorita. No, no you don't want to do that." He smiled again.

I cursed myself for enjoying his dangerously seductive smile and voice. Almost smooth enough to calm my fears and turn them into anxiety of such a sexy guy. I couldn't let that part of me win. I had to let the reasonable side win. I continued towards the kitchen. "Why the hell are you in my house?"

He shook his head. "I told you that's not a reasonable idea," he said as he continued to walk closer.

"Oh yeah?" I asked, feeling my oats. I swallowed. He was almost around the table now. "Why not?"

"Because, then you—" he stopped and sprinted towards me. I flung myself into the kitchen, grabbed a knife, and spun to face him in one movement, standing strong against the counter.

"Don't come closer!" I said, gripping the knife tightly, pointed right at the center of his chest.

He laughed, hands up. He shook his head. He was only about a foot from the tip of my knife. He brushed a thumb across his nose and kept his hands up in peace. "That's funny, that's funny, you know. You're a funny girl." I could see now that he had gorgeous light brown eyes. No, no, fuck, not gorgeous. This is a strange fucking dude in my house, he is not gorgeous. His head was tilted down a little as he shifted from foot to foot. "Funny. You don't want to be fighting me, though. You really don't."

"Why not?" I said, swallowing again. "Who are you, and what the hell do you want?"

He smiled again. Almost too quick for me to see, he whipped his pistol out and held it at my forehead. I gasped. "Who am I? You want to know who I am?" He laughed again and shook his head. He turned and walked away a little, dropping his gun. He looked at me and pointed the gun again, this time from farther away. I didn't let the knife drop an inch, though I could see the tip wavering as I shook in fear. He apparently saw it too and put his pistol away. "Oh, baby, don't be scared," he cooed, coming nearer again. I held the knife at his chest again. This time it was against his shirt. He looked down at it. He was silent for a few seconds, then he said quietly, "You know, you rip this shirt, I make you pay for it. You better not rip it." He looked up at me again.

I glanced across his shirt, noting his muscular physique. I licked my lips and used the knife to point at a hole. "You already have a hole in it, there. There too."

He only blinked as his smile fell. My stomach dropped to my feet and I wanted to kick myself in the mouth. I shouldn't be playing with a psychopath.

Then, he laughed. He backed away a little. "You know, you _are_ funny. I like you. I like you a lot." He grinned. "My name's Vaas. As to what I want, well…" He had a glint in his eye. He was silent for a little as I contemplated what he wanted. That stupid, idiotic part of me immediately guttered his words; I wouldn't mind kissing him, making out with him, hell, even blowing him or fucking him. I bit my lip. Great. I had Stockholm Syndrome.

"What?" I asked anyway.

He grinned. "Just want you to complete a little survey, of course."

Hot _and_ funny. It was getting harder for the responsible part of me to stay the dominant one in this situation. I allowed myself a small smile. If he was gunna play, well then, so would I. Knife still pointed at his heart, I said, "All right, then. Ask away."

He started me with a loud laugh. "See? You're perfect, you're funny. Cute, too. I like you. You should come with us. Come, uh, party with me and my boys."

The reasonable side of me finally flared up. "I'm not going anywhere with you." I remembered where I was; the stupid haze of lust cleared a little. I could think clearly again. "You should get out of my house. Right now."

"Oh come on, don't be that way," he said pleadingly, coming closer once more. He was against my knife again. His smile dropped. "You know, I really don't like you pointing that thing at me. I really don't."

For as dirty as he was, he actually smelled really nice. Some sort of cologne. They say there was some kind of study done that found that girls will immediately think a guy is more attractive if he smells nice, no matter what he looks like. But this guy really didn't need it to be more attractive. The haze was settling around me once more. His arms looked so strong… I wouldn't mind being held in them. His hands looked worn but experienced. And his lips… fuck, they looked just so… kissable.

"Did you hear me?"

I blinked and shook my head. Fuck, my face was red. "Uh, sorry, w-what?" Why was this happening to me?

"Move the knife. I don't want to hurt you. Come on, move it."

I shook my head and licked my lips. "No. S-step away and then I'll lower it. You're too close." Or maybe not close enough.

"You know, you're pissing me off just a little. I don't like this knife aimed at my fucking chest."

"And I don't like strange hot men in my house for no reason." Oh. Fuck. I swallowed. His eyes flicked to me and a slow smile spread across his face. "Uh, I mean, that—that you're randomly in my house, and… you, I don't know—how…" I took a quick breath in and let it out. "How the hell did you get in my house?" My voice had gone up an octave, trying to cover my mistake.

He laughed quietly and backed away once more, looking me up and down this time. He pointed at me, raised his eyebrows, and laughed again. His arm dropped. "I like you. Because I like you, how about this." He pulled out a chair from our table and sat down. He looked at me for a bit, and then nodded at the chair across from him for me to do the same. "Come on, I won't bite. Promise."

Against my better judgment, I slowly walked over, knife still pointed, and sat down lightly. I kept my chair angled so that I could jump and run if I needed to.

"You look so fucking tense, come on, loosen up. Remind me to give you a back massage later or something, jeez," he said, grinning.

"Promise you won't hurt me and I'll lower the knife," I said, reasonable side still clinging to control.

He pursed his lips to the side and then shrugged. "I wasn't really going to hurt you in the first place. Don't worry about it."

"Do you promise?"

"Really? You're really doing that to me? Really?"

"You're the stranger in my house. You're lucky I haven't called the cops."

He grinned again. "Okay, fine." He relaxed back against the chair. "I promise I won't hurt you. How's that? That okay?"

I contemplated it. As much as I knew I shouldn't, I slowly lowered the knife. I still kept it in my hand, but it was on the table now. "Okay. That's good." Now that I was… well… at least at a safe point, I let my eyes roam over him. Fuck, he was beautiful. Crazy, but beautiful. His scar just melted away in my eyes. He was perfect. He was a perfect individual. Beautiful and crazy. Oh, the dirty, dirty things I could do to this gorgeous man…

He whistled and waved his hand at me. "Hello? You still with me? Did you go somewhere else for a moment there?"

I blinked. "Huh?"

His hand shot out and covered mine, pinning the knife to the table. He leaned closer, sexy brown eyes boring into my own. I found my breath caught in my throat. "You went somewhere for a moment there," he purred as I started to register the warmth from his hand. "You daydreaming or something? Where's your head at now? Are you scared of me? Huh? You intimidated by me? Don't be scared, baby, I told you I wouldn't hurt you."

Now. I yanked my hand from under his, leaving the knife. I knocked over my chair as I bolted out of it and ran out of the kitchen.

I needed a phone.

The first one I pictured was in the other living room. I bolted for it, feet slamming on the wooden panels, but then froze once more. My sliding glass door was wide open. One guy stood in the doorway, holding an AK-47. He looked almost as surprised to see me as I was to see him. Two guys sat lounging on my sofa, also wearing red. I was almost too stunned to move.

"Why you gotta run from me, girl?" asked a dangerously seductive voice behind me. I felt a chill run up my spine. I turned and bolted into my parent's bedroom and slammed the door shut. It caught on something. Leaning heavily against it, breathing quickly, I looked down to see a foot. A forceful shove against the door pushed me back away from it as Vaas busted his way in.

My breath was coming in short gasps now. There were no weapons in here. I was cornered, I was trapped. Trapped like a little animal, and Vaas the tiger. He smiled at me and closed the door. I kept my back to the window, watching him. He sat down on the bed and patted the spot next to him. I shook my head. His smile dropped. "You sit the fuck next to me right now, sweetheart. I told you I wouldn't hurt you. I keep my promises." I shook my head again, words lost. He rolled his eyes and pulled out his pistol again. He cocked it and pointed it at me. "Sit the fuck down, right now!" he shouted. My eyes widened and I found myself taking a step towards him. He smiled. "That's right, come on. Come on, sit down." Heart beating itself out of my chest, I took my steps closer to what was surely my doom. He turned the gun away and I slowly sat down next to him. He put his arm around my shoulders, the pistol just next to my face.

Facing forward, he looked into my parent's mirror. "Look. Look at that. Isn't that nice? Look how cute that looks."

He had the gun out again, so I wasn't going to play with him this time. I looked.

All the color was gone from my face but my cheeks. My pale skin was a stark contrast to the beautiful dark color of his. My dark hair matched his, however, as did our brown eyes. I connected eyes with him in the mirror.

"Did I ever tell you," he asked slowly, voice husky, "the definition… of insanity?"

The warmth from his arm and the nearness brought the haze on me again. All I could smell was his cologne. It was all I could do to keep my eyes open. In my mind, I swore. I'm pretty sure I was a little wet. Fuck me, fuck him for making me feel this way!

"It's doing the same fucking thing, over and over again, expecting shit to change. But you know what? It doesn't. There's always so many fuckers out there, those stupid fucking pricks, again and again, thinking it'll all change. A different outcome. Something new." He looked at me, then. I just kept my eyes on the mirror. I saw him look at my eyes, down at my jaw, then up at my eyes again. He took a breath in and let it out. He leaned closer and the breath caught in my throat. Mouth at my collarbone, he slowly drew his tongue up to the bottom of my ear, sending thousands of sensations down my spine and between my legs. My eyes rolled back a little and I closed my eyes. I couldn't help but involuntarily whimper a little, breath stuck in my chest.

He pulled away slightly and looked over my face again. This time, he laughed. He used both hands to massage my shoulders a bit. "So fucking sense. Calm the fuck down, all right? I told you I wasn't gunna hurt you, fuck. I said I liked you. Why would I hurt something I like, huh?" He stopped and left his gun arm around my shoulders, looking at me in the mirror again. He smiled slowly, this time, a new glint in his eyes.

He could see the redness of my face, the distant look in my eyes. He heard the whimper. He knew he had me. He knew the power he held. And that fucking look, that fucking look of knowledge, of understanding, of _power_… left me feeling so bare and so exposed that I suddenly knew.

I had let the rational side go. All that was left was the irrational imagination and lust. I couldn't think straight. I was so defeated. He had me. I was powerless in his grip. And the worst part was… the worst part was that he knew it. He knew it all. That single look told me so.

His grin only deepened. He turned his head and looked down. "I really like you. I really do. I want you to know that. That's why I'm going to… protect you, keep you safe."

"H-how?" I finally found my voice.

He dug around in a pocket and pulled out a small towel. He was staring at it.

I had seen too many movies to know where this was going. Before I could widen my eyes, the rag was covering my mouth and nose. A sickly sweet, dangerously seductive smell flew through my senses. Vaas held it tight against my face, the arm around my neck tightening. I clawed at his arm to try to get him off of me, squirmed and writhed, but he was much too strong. His face started to get a red tint, and my sight started to go fuzzy.

So this was it, then. My strength was draining by the second. He slowly laid me back on the bed, lying with me, his gun arm a pillow. "Shh, shh," he cooed as my eyes started to flutter and my hands only slowly moved. "I promised I wouldn't hurt you. Trust me, babe, trust me."

I took one more breath in, and it felt like I was nodding. My vision was fuzzy. All I could feel was the softness on my back and the warmth of his arms and body. My last thought before my eyes shut drowsily and my hands came to a rest on his arm was that I had finally gotten to feel what it was like to be in his arms.

Stupid… fucking… me. All because I let my other side win.

* * *

**A/N: Hate it when them dang sexy guys get the best of you like that. Next chap up soon!**


	2. Sweet Taste of Freedom

**A/N: I couldn't leave you with just that chapter for now; I wanna bring you into the story. Where I'm headed, what's going on. **

**Enjoy. :)**

* * *

I was having a strange dream where I could have sworn that I was flying or something, but not of my own free will. So maybe I wasn't flying… no, it felt more like being carried. I was being transported through the dream by some unknown force.

Then, there was an immediate prick of pain, and the dream jarred and became jagged for a few moments, or maybe a few hours. I couldn't really grasp the passing of time in this dream. Then, the feelings floated away and the floating took me with it. I was lost in a swirl of colors and sounds and smells, and nothing felt familiar.

I usually enjoyed my dreams, but the lack of familiarity in this dream caused me to feel uneasy. It felt like it was pressing on me, keeping me in the dream, like I couldn't wake up. Like I was stuck in my own mind, like in a gate at a horse race. I had a feeling I'd be let out soon, but right now wasn't the time. It made me antsy and brought back the jarring, harsh feel of the dream. The bright colors turned dark and oozed black with their own ominous existence. Then, I found myself walking down a long hallway, the only colors now black and dark neon blue. Things in the dark moved in the corner of my eye, but looking at them either made them disappear or stand still, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't see them through the darkness anyway.

Only one thing suddenly became clear; a voice. Now that I heard it, I noticed I had been hearing it all along but didn't register it. Just wrote it off as white noise. I couldn't hear any of the words, but I knew that I heard that voice before. It was muddled and incomprehensible, like as if they were speaking from another room. Peering down the hallway, I decided the voice was coming from somewhere ahead. I started to walk down the hall, but the longer I walked, the more I noticed that I wasn't moving at all. No matter how hard I pushed, my feet moved slower and slower. Giving up on walking down the hall, I simply turned and strode into the nearest room.

This room was covered in tree branches and vines. Had I really walked into a room, or had I just walked outside? I continued further into the brush, convinced the voice was out there somewhere. It was fading, as if they were walking away from me. I had to find the speaker! I walked faster, which turned into jogging, and then eventually, running. The branches reached out to hinder and grab me, and the cut at my arms and clothes. One caught on my mouth, and I couldn't spit it out. A few others wrapped around my arms and legs, and I could no longer run. I stumbled and fell, trying to spit out the vine and push them away.

I opened my eyes, panting. The vine was still in my mouth. Moving my jaw around, I felt that it wasn't a vine at all. It was a rag. Someone had tied a gag around my mouth. I tested all my limbs to see if I was missing anything; luckily, I wasn't. My arms were tied behind my back, though, and my feet were tied together.

I was lying on a bed in a dark, hot room. Listening quietly, I knew I was the only one in here. It was a very sturdy room, must have been made of concrete or something. I lifted my head, trying to gauge where the door was, if there were windows, lights, other things in the room…

Then, I heard voices. My eyes widened in fear as I heard them coming closer. I glanced around in the darkness for a weapon or something—anything—but I had no time. The door was rattling. I shut my eyes and feigned sleep once more.

"—think that it's a good idea?" asked a voice as the door opened and light flooded into the room. I opened my eyes just slightly; I could see two people and a lamp in the room outside of this one.

"Are you challenging me on this?" My eyes almost shot open in shock. That was the voice from my dreams. That was… I knew that voice, I knew this guy…

"No, no, of course not," said the first voice as the two walked over to me. "I just think that we could honestly get a huge haul out of her. She's pretty and she's young; easy as fuck to sell."

"Watch your language in the presence of a lady, you shithead." They were silent for a moment. "Maybe you're right. She will fetch a pretty penny… we could make a fortune on her." He was silent again. "Go on. I wanna check on her." The first guy didn't move. "Are you deaf? Do you want me to escort you out, huh? Hold your hand? You a little baby?"

"No…" He sighed. "Just shout if you need me. I'll be outside." Footsteps. The door stayed open, but the footsteps still died off.

I could still feel the presence of familiar voice. I almost jumped when I felt him sit down next to me. I struggled to maintain my breath to keep the semblance of sleep. With each passing minute, I got more and more tense. I didn't dare open my eyes, shift, or move. I had no clue what he was doing apart from just sitting there. It felt like the tension was pressing in on me, building like pressure.

"You awake?" asked the guy. I almost placed his voice, but I still felt a little foggy. I didn't move or make any motion to let him know I heard him. Nothing happened for a few moments, and then I felt a hand on my face.

Warm, rough, and yet… tender. Touching my cheek. I felt myself relaxing. The hand brushed some hair off my face and behind my ear. He sighed and then stood up, the warmth of the hand leaving me. "You have to wake up sometime, chika. All this sleep can be bad for your health."

My eyes almost did shoot open, then. How could I have been so stupid? Why didn't I notice it immediately? Of course it was him. That was his voice, his body, his hand. Vaas. I heard him walk to the door, pause, and then leave, closing the door behind him.

I opened my eyes in the slightest. I couldn't quite tell if he really had left or not, but I couldn't feel anyone else in the room with me. I decided not to chance it anyways and just left my eyes closed. I tested the bonds on my arms, but they were tight. However, they were just rope. And… they didn't feel like they were tied too expertly. I bet if I just twisted my wrist like this, and moved my arms a little—

There. Now I just had to twist a bit, and…

Whoever tied these ropes needed to get another job. They slipped off easily. I wiggled my way out of them and took off the gag quickly. I sat up and brought my feet up and untied my legs.

Once free, I massaged my wrists. That wasn't too hard. I stood up, but then got dizzy, and sat back down. I shook my head and tried again. Maybe I had been tied up too long? I walked over to the door and kneeled down, trying to glance under the door. I couldn't see a thing, though. I put my hand on the handle, took a breath, and slowly turned it. Slower than I had ever moved, I turned that handle until it stopped.

I held my breath and put my head at the opening as I pulled it open slowly, slowly. I could finally see out the crack. Vaas was nowhere in sight, but I did see two guys. One was sitting at a table cleaning a gun, and another was sitting against a wall, reading a book. I watched them for a bit, and then closed the door once more.

Leaning my head against the door, I stood there.

Where was I? What was going to happen to me? That one guy, the one with Vaas, said they were going to sell me. Tears sprung to my eyes. Was this the end of me? Would I be sold into slavery or something? Sold as spare parts? Was I going to die?

Wait. No, they said something different, didn't they? I wasn't going to be sold. They would have gotten a lot of money for me, but… but I wasn't going to get sold. But how did I know that they weren't just bluffing, saying that to calm my fears in case I was (as I was) awake? Maybe they really are going to ransom me off or something. Shit, that would tear my parents apart. I couldn't let that happen…

My eyes flew open wide. I'd escape. It was just that simple. I'd get out of here, wherever 'here' was. I licked my lips and felt my pockets for my lighter. I wore pocketless pants today… I sighed and instead felt along the wall for a light switch. I couldn't feel one, though I did find that the room was relatively small. I felt my way around the room, but all that was in here was the bed, a small table, and a chair. I sighed and looked over my options. I could go out, guns blazing, and try to attack the two guys out there… but I know at least one had a gun, and I'd only be armed with a small wooden chair. I could try to trick them into coming in here and attack them that way, but honestly… they hadn't hurt me at all yet. At least, not that I knew of. This didn't really feel like it was that hostile of an environment, so I really didn't want to go around hurting anyone if they hadn't hurt me first. I could try to create a distraction and get them to go away, but I had nothing to throw.

I frowned and sat down. I felt around on the bed. There were sheets… I sat up and blinked. I had an idea. I fashioned the sheets into a semi-human shape and took my jacket off, now only in two tank tops. I put it on the sheets and put the top sheet over it all. I frowned. Well, it wasn't perfect, but it'd have to do. I looked at the door again and then made my way over to it. I squatted down and licked my lips again. This had to work. I took a breath to calm my nerves. Then, I coughed. I listened for the guys outside, but nothing happened. I coughed again, louder. My ear was tilted, but still, nothing. I coughed again, longer, louder. This time I heard movement.

Okay. This was now or never. Oh man, oh man… what if I got caught? What if this didn't work? Well, too late now. I had to go through with it. I pressed myself against the wall, trying not to be seen. Just as I hoped, the door opened. My heart raced. The guy stood there for a moment. "Hey, are you okay?" he asked, and then came closer to 'me'. I took a breath and snuck out behind him, crouched low to the ground. The other guy was still at the table, but I had to find somewhere to hide, and fast. There was a box next to me, so I quickly hid behind it and laid flat on the ground. Not seconds after, I heard the guy shout.

"Hey! Hey, the girl!" He opened the door wider to allow light to flood in. "She's gone!" He ran out of the room. "She's gone. We have to find her! Vaas will kill us, man." The two sprinted out of the room. I slowly sat up. I was alone. I couldn't believe that worked! I smirked to myself, proud of my skill. Still, I stayed crouched as I snuck through the room. The only light came from a light bulb on the ceiling. It was a pretty bare, dirty room. A table, a TV, chairs, boxes… that was about it. I made my way over to the doorway and peeked out. There was a hallway with four doors. One was closed, the other three were open. I took a breath and quickly left. One door opened to a rather nice looking office, and the other two to more hallways. One, however, the one on the left… was open to the outside world. It was dark out, but I could smell the outdoors. I quickly made my way over and peeked out.

I had to cover my mouth. Where the hell was I? There were trees and sand and it—it looked like the jungle in my dream. Was I really in a jungle? The building I was in was part of quite a few set in a circle fashion around a fire pit in the center. Chickens milled about, looking for food. I could see men all over the place, either relaxing and chatting, or… or hauling around people. Carrying guns. Blindfolded, tied up, gagged people. Guns at their heads or backs, walking them to and from different buildings.

I almost turned back around and went back to my room. But I had already come this far, I had to get out. I peeked out the door. There were two men chatting to the left, but it looked free to the right. I stayed low as I made my way to the side of the building. I was met by a fence, of course. I silently cursed. I was in plain sight now, too. I couldn't risk going back the way I came. I bit my tongue and looked around quickly. To my left was a wooden walkway. I frowned and clenched my hands, but I had to do it. I got down on my hands and knees and crawled under it. Who knows how many spiders or bugs or any other number of disgusting things could have made their home down here, but this was a matter of life or death. I couldn't let those things bother me now, not when I got so far already. I suppressed a shudder and started to crawl the only way I could go: towards the center, towards the fire pit. I got to a fork in the path, as far as I could go without crawling into the open. The cover of darkness would help me move, but I had to be careful. I was practically in plain sight again. I took a left and slowly crawled along, stopping whenever I thought someone saw me.

I followed it for a ways, but stopped again when some men walked overhead. They were laughing and talking in some other language that I couldn't understand. I furrowed my brow and continued. Where the hell was I? I saw another path that lead off to a hole in the fence. I heaved in a breath and took that direction. I peeked out the hole. I couldn't see any men, but I couldn't quite see a way out, either. I was greeted with great, huge plants; most of which I had never seen before.

I sat back on my heels. I could either stay here and be sold, or go out there and try my luck with a jungle. I swallowed and decided on the latter. I slowly crawled out and wiggled my way through the hole, scraping my arm and drawing blood in the process. The pain fueled me and caused me to move quicker. I had to get away. I scrambled my way through the hole and sat there, on my hands and knees, panting. I wiped off my brow and then sighed. A sound made me look up, right into a pair of boots.

All my hope drained out immediately. I followed the boots up a pair of greet pants, up a red tank and crossed pair of arms, into the face of—

I stood up quickly and held my ground. Even though I was attracted to this man, he was going to sell me. I had to remain myself.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty. Have a nice nap?" It was Vaas. How did he know… how did he find me? I swallowed and didn't answer him. "You know," he said, taking a step closer to me, "I was hoping you'd take this way. I thought you'd go to the left, where I had a little ambush set up, I honestly did, but you went this way instead."

He took step after step closer to me until my back was to the fence. I swallowed. "Let me go. I didn't do anything to you."

He smiled. "No, no of course you didn't. You really didn't. But chika, this is my camp. This is my island. Nothing happens without me knowing about it." He was only a foot away now. He was incredibly intimidating, and I found that deeply attractive. Still, I maintained my ground. I wouldn't let him know how I felt about him. I kept my face turned away, not looking at him. Not letting my face give away my feelings. "Not the same without your knife, now, are ya?"

I frowned. He was right. I had no weapon.

"Did you think you could survive out there? Without a knife? Without a gun, without a plan? Come on, I thought you were better than that. Smarter than that."

"Wasn't worth getting myself killed," I muttered, thinking back to the guy cleaning the gun at the table.

"Oh come on," he said, reaching towards me. I froze. His hands found my face, and he tilted my head to look at him. He was still smiling. "You were going to run off into the woods without protection? Why would you wanna do that, huh? Why would you want to? It's not safe out there, baby. Not safe at all. Especially not for a pretty young thing like you, no, not at all."

I pulled away from his touch, still frowning.

Vaas was silent for a bit. He let his hands drop to his sides and looked around. "Tigers." He nodded slowly. "Sharks. Bears. Lions, dingos, boars…" He took another step closer to me, but I couldn't move. I bet if I inhaled deeply, my chest would've brushed his. I didn't dare look at him; I kept my eyes on the plants to my right. I wouldn't look into his eyes, wouldn't allow myself to be intimidated, wouldn't allow my other side to win, not this time. "All out there. This nature isn't like yours back home. This is real nature. Not some Snow White bullshit. Bunnies and birdies and little baby Bambis aren't going to make you a nest and take care of you. You gotta watch out for yourself. You gotta take it down before it gets to you. You gotta kill it before it kills you." He bit down like an animal and grinned. "You watch out, or it bites you."

I didn't allow myself to look at him or think about how attractive he was. I didn't say a thing. I hoped I was doing a good job of hiding my feelings, because I couldn't read Vaas. He was just too off the wall to be read properly.

"Why're you suddenly silent, huh? Don't have anything to say? Come on, don't tell me you're scared of me. I'm not a scary guy. I'm not that scary, am I?" He put his forehead against mine, forcing me to face him head on, be near to him. "I'm not scary. Why do you not have anything to say, huh? Don't you wanna say something to me? I know you do." We stood like that, foreheads touching, for a good few seconds. He was silent, and so was I. Slowly, I looked up; I found myself looking right into his eyes, and I was paralyzed. Those light brown orbs were so amazing, so crazy, so beautiful, that it stunned me. I stood there, held in the grip of his eyes, not being able to move or think. I was hypnotized.

I saw something change in his eyes. He pulled away and stared at me. This time, I kept his gaze. His gripping stare had left, but he still held my attention. "You know, we have the same eyes, you and me. You've got crazy eyes. I can see a spark in there. Some sort of fire in you." He unsuccessfully held back a smile. "And lucky for you, I'm a bit of a pyro."

I couldn't help it. I smiled. I liked hearing that from him, when I couldn't stop complimenting him in my head. However, something immediately popped into my mind. Something he had said earlier. My smile dropped and I looked away from him again. "Why are you trying to do this? I'm not gunna be here that long anyway, am I?"

He blinked. "What are you talking about? You think I was gunna let you walk outta here all by yourself? In the jungle? If I was gunna do that, do you think I would have been here, stopping you?"

"No," I said. "I heard you earlier. You… you said I was… that you were gunna sell me. Like some… some fucking property." I turned my gaze on him. My rational side was flaring up, fueling my stare, turning it hard.

He smiled. Not the reaction I was hoping for, but I still held my ground. "You mad about that?" He shook his head and walked around me to lean against the fence with me. I didn't let my gaze off of him, even though he stared out into the jungle. "You wanna go? Then go."

I blinked, glare forgotten. Was he really just gunna let me go? But… but I…

"Go on," he said, making shooing motions with his hands. "Get outta here. You wanted to go, didn't you? Here's your chance. Why don't you leave?"

I frowned and looked out at the plants and dense underbrush. I… I couldn't, though. He was right. I could barely survive college, let alone a fucking jungle. I hadn't thought of a plan outside of escape. I had no weapon, no idea of where I was, and no protection. There was, unfortunately, no way that I could survive and live out there on my own. It was simply impossible.

He took a breath in and covered his mouth, smiling. "Oh ho! Maybe she doesn't want to leave! Is that it? Is that it, huh? Do you want to stay here?"

I glared at him. "I… I wouldn't have been able to make it out there on my own."

His hands slowly dropped, but his grin stayed large. He got off the fence so that he could face me again. He crossed his arms and watched me.

"Did you wonder why it was so easy to get out here?"

"I—" I stopped and blinked, starting to wonder what he was getting at. "I distracted your guys and got away."

He raised an eyebrow. Then, he beamed. "_Really_?" The word was full of sarcasm.

"Yes, _really_!" I said, my anger flaring a little.

"Are you sure they weren't just told to run off?" He watched me as my face fell. "Wonder why there were only two? Why no one stopped you? Why you were tied up so loosely? Why there were men to the left and not to the right? Why the walkway lead you out of here?" He grinned.

I… I couldn't believe it. He knew what I was going to do, didn't he? None of that was really my doing. All of this was planned out. I was _supposed_ to escape. I was _supposed_ to get caught. He had played me. I had played right into his little trap, right into his little hands, just to get me out here. "But why?" I asked quietly. I couldn't believe that he had knocked me on my ass like that, how he got the better of me.

But I could tell this was what he did. He was always one step ahead. It was what he was best at. He had to do it to survive, to live in the jungle. This was his game, his camp, his island, and I was just a piece of the puzzle. I had been moved like a puppet from the beginning. The feeling of being cracked, being swept off my feet by his coyness, was just more fuel for the fire of my lust for him. My rational side was slipping away quickly. Fear was fading into admiration.

I could see that he was in his element. Getting people to do what he wanted without actually doing anything was what he did. "Why?" He gripped the fence with both hands on either side of me, trapping me between his arms. I could only look at him. "Because I needed you to notice something. I needed you to notice that if you escape, you won't have anywhere to go. You're alone out there. You will die out there. That isn't your world out there. That nature isn't safe. You need to stay here to survive. You need this place to live. You need _me _to live. This is where you stay, and you can't change that. This is your fate."

I didn't say anything. I could only breathe and stare at him. If only he knew that part of me got excited about this; I don't have to say which side, either. Even though, I couldn't argue with him. He was right. I couldn't do this on my own; it was a fucking jungle, for crying out loud. I needed a plan, a weapon, protection. For the time being, I really did need _him_. He was the only one who knew what was going on.

As I stood there, he let out a small smile. He knew he was right, and he knew that _I_ knew that he was right. He licked his lips and then looked down at my mouth. The breath caught in my throat when I knew what he was doing. He leaned closer and my heart threatened to beat out of my chest. His lips touched mine in a slight, almost mocking, kiss, but I kissed him back. My eyes slid shut and the kiss lasted no longer than three seconds, but when he pulled away, I knew I shouldn't have done that.

A slow smile spread across his features. "Now that's interesting. That's really interesting."

I bit my lip. I couldn't help myself; he kissed me, I really wanted to kiss him, so I kissed back. I probably shouldn't have, but… but I really wanted to. And man was it nice. I could feel it in him that he was a good kisser. The only problem was now I really wanted to see just how good of a kisser he really was. I looked away from him, internally struggling with if I should have kissed him or not.

He took a step back and let go of the fence. "Come on; let's take you back to your room. Now that you've got that escape out of your system, I bet you'll be plenty easy to work with, huh?" He smiled and put an arm around my shoulders, pulling me from the wall, and walked me back into camp. "Yeah, I think you'll be _very_ easy to work with now."

That struck something in me. I was many things, damn it, but easy was not one of them. Even though I found him hot, that made me mad. I was not going to go down as fucking easy. I rolled my shoulders and stepped away from him a little, brushing his arm off. "I can walk on my own just fine, thanks."

He laughed. "Mad that I got the better of you, eh? Don't worry; it happens to the best of us. After all, we _are_ only human."

He walked me back to the room, all the while his henchmen's eyes were on me. I saw one pair of guys do a fist bump, while another pair talked quietly and pointed at me every once in a while. I kept my head high; they may have all been in on this and tricked me, but I'd show them. I'd show them that I wasn't so easy to trick.

When we got back to my room, Vaas opened the door for me. "After you," he said with a mocking arm gesture.

"Thanks," I muttered, walking into the dark room once more.

"Sleep tight!" Without another word, he closed the door and I was thrown into darkness. I flipped the door my middle finger before finding my way over to the bed. Sitting down, I sighed. Well, now what? Maybe this really was the end. Maybe I really was about to get sold. Wasn't that just peachy?

However, I could feel something growing deep inside me. I closed my eyes and thought for a moment, trying to place the feeling. If they had tricked me once, well then, I'd just have to trick them back. I'd have to come up with another plan—something different, something smarter, and escape once more. Only this time, for real. I'd have a plan, I'd have a weapon, and I'd have an idea of what I was going to do.

I reclined back on the bed and put my arms beneath my head. No matter how hot Vaas was, he was still a crazy captor, and I'd be dead meat if I let that idiotic Stockholm Syndrome thing come to light. For now, it was time to wait and form a plan, and really get out of this place this time.

* * *

**A/N: Ooohhhh he just pushes _all_ the right buttons.**


	3. Magpie

**A/N: You guys, I'm really pleased that you like this story! I was really on the line about posting it, but because of you, I'm glad I did. Plus, this is so fun to write! **

**This is a short chapter, but trust me, the next one is gunna be rewarding.**

**Also, shoutout to my good friend Panda54 for being my beta. Thank you so much. :)**

**Anyway... I won't keep you guys any longer. Enjoy! :)**

* * *

I had been in the room for two days, just watching and waiting and learning. After listening to the guardsmen, I had found out that I was on the north side of an island in the Pacific. I knew that Vaas was their leader, and they kidnapped people and held them for ransom. The building I was in was the main one: Vaas's office and a storage unit. As far as I could hear, I had no clue where the other prisoners were; in fact, it sounded like I was the only one trapped in this entire building. Whether I was set aside specially or the walls were just too thick, I didn't know.

Unfortunately, after much thought, I decided that I couldn't survive on my own in a jungle. It was just impossible: I'd need food, clean water, shelter, protection… stuff that I couldn't just sneak away easily from this camp. So instead, I just really wanted to wipe that smug little smirk off of Vaas's face by getting out of this cell. Since I couldn't truly leave, I'd at least get a good look around the grounds. Find the exits, the weak points, play tricks on his men. Think you could get the better of me? Think again, bud. What if I could stay at large a whole day? Or even longer? That would certainly show him.

Throughout the day, guards would come in and give me food, ask if I had to use the bathroom, or give me something to drink. Most never treated me badly, nor did they even really act like I was a prisoner. More like I was just someone with a virus they didn't want to catch. Though some were rather snooty and degrading. Vaas also showed up once in a while to check on me, but nothing ever more than that.

Even so, it was one of the guards that made me decide what had to be done.

I took note of what they looked like, how big they were, and the like. I was a predator, watching for prey. There was one guard who was just a little smaller, little paler, little snootier than the rest. Always wore a red bandana and hat, always looked down his nose at me. He was my target.

It took me a full day of waiting until he finally came in to ask if I needed anything. "Yeah," I said, holding a plate. "I think there was something wrong with this chicken. Could you take it for me?"

"You gotta be kidding me," he said, coming closer.

I took a quick breath and tightened my grip on the chair leg in my other hand. When he was close enough, I leapt up and swung my weapon as hard as I could, hitting him in the head. He went down without a sound. I allowed myself a slight fist pump, but then I got to work. I closed the door slightly, in case anyone looked in. I hurriedly stripped the guy of his pants, shirt, bandana, and hat, and then used my spare ropes and gag to tie and gag him. Leaving him propped against the opposite wall, I quickly donned his clothes. I gathered my hair together, hid it under the hat, and then tied the bandana around my face like he had. He had a machete holstered to his back which I took and hid under my mattress. I was sure that I'd eventually be caught and thrown back in here; stashing this weapon was just a precaution for next time.

I looked at myself. At least that guy and I were roughly the same size. As long as I didn't get too close to anyone, they shouldn't suspect a thing.

Taking a breath, I peeked out the door, only saw one guard napping at the table, and left the room. I closed the door behind me.

My heart was threatening to fly right out of my chest. I was so nervous, but I had to do what I had to do. In fact, thinking about getting the better of Vaas almost had me as excited as kissing him. Just imagine that look on his face when I either go waltzing right by him at a crucial moment, or show up with a group of his men, or something else. I'd show him how easy I could fucking be.

Smirking to myself, I searched the room and found an apple. I left the room, about to chomp down, when I noticed Vaas was in his office. I closed my mouth and peeked inside. He was standing with his back to me, bent over a table. I quickly passed his door and made for the outside.

It was light out now, and really warm. Two guys were arguing to my right, so at least they were occupied, but that still didn't stop me from being nervous as I walked past them to test my disguise. They didn't even look at me as I walked by. I let out the breath I had held and walked down the stairs, eating the apple. It was a little old, but it was still fresh fruit and it tasted nice. I looked out across the camp and took it all in.

I counted six buildings including the main one. Two looked like barracks, one like a storage unit, another like it housed animals, but the sixth had nothing discernible about it.

Drawn to the animals since it called for the least amount of human interaction, I hugged the wall and headed towards that building. I tried to walk like what I thought I man would walk like; feet slightly pointed out, legs apart, a little bit of a hunch. If I had to walk by someone, I tilted my head down a little so they couldn't see my face, so the brim of the hat covered my eyes. Even then, I made sure to stay as far away as I could from every guy I saw. I wasn't planning on spoiling my identity this early in the game.

I made it to the building without too much of a scare. I walked to the back of the structure where no one would see me and just stood there, enjoying the sun. Disbelief had me shaking my head and smiling, since I was sure that this shit only worked in the movies.

I turned and went into the building, deciding I could use this free time to explore. I was correct; this place did house the animals. Sure smelled like it, too. I had been around enough farms in my life to not really care too much about the smell. Reminded me of my childhood a little.

There were three pigs, a bunch of chickens, and a single goat in separate pens. A bunch of hay was piled up along one wall. I smiled and watched the chickens peck about and tried to pet them, but they ran away from me. The goat was real interested in me when I walked over, so I fed him the rest of my apple. I patted him on the head and then went to the pigs. Just as I was about to pet one, the goat bleated. I turned quickly. "Shh," I said, but it only licked its chops and bleated again. I clenched my teeth. "Hush, goat," I pressed, walking over to it. It continued to make noise, so I decided it was time to leave. I made a beeline for the door, but saw shadows approaching from one side. Panicking, I jumped into the hay bales and burrowed, hurriedly throwing hay on top of myself. I stopped just as two guys walked in.

"Stupid goat. When can we eat this thing?" said one with a nasally voice. "It smells like shit and I can never get a quiet moment because of it."

The other man kicked the cage and the goat backed away, whining. "Don't know," said the other guy with a deep voice. "At least you don't have guard duty. Sucks, is what it does."

"Are you kidding me? You watch that girl and do nothing. I wish that was what I did."

I blinked. They were about to talk about me.

"It's so goddam boring! Check on her every few hours, see if she needs anything… you know, honestly, I don't think she needs watching. They should just let her roam, let her enjoy her freedom."

"You don't think she needs watching? Are you nuts?" asked nasally voice as the two stopped near my hiding spot. "She escaped. What makes you think she won't try to again?"

"That one was staged. She was supposed to get out. You know that."

They started walking again and I let out the breath I was holding.

"Yeah, but she still took the initiative and escaped. It's not the fact that she was supposed to, it's the fact that she took the opportunity and did it."

"I don't know why Vaas wanted to test her in the first place," said deep voice as they left the building. "It's weird having this new guard duty. I think he just doesn't want to get rid of her."

"She's a hot young thing! Vaas'd be mad not to keep her. Fuck, I'd keep her! She'd make a lot of money, but damn she'd keep my dick wet all day long."

"Fuck, I know what you mean. Fine piece of ass, I wouldn't let that out of my sight…"

Their conversation slowly faded out as they walked out of earshot. I crawled out of the hay bales and brushed myself off. Well, at least I knew I was wanted. Their words, albeit creepy, made bolstered my ego. They thought I could make a lot of money! Well, not only could I have made a lot of money, I'm smart too, damn it. And I'll be damned to let this opportunity pass me by.

Fueled by my ego, I decided I was going to go pull some petty pranks. I was going to hide stuff, break things, make shit go missing. Even after I'm caught and back in the room, I can still be terrorizing them with a missing left shoe or a bed full of rocks. It's the perfect 'fuck you' that I could have. Hah, and stupid, sexy Vaas thought I'd come easy. I'd show him; I'd show them all that I couldn't be taken down. They would see just how easy I could be.

Smirk now on my face, I left the building and headed right for the one next to me. One guy sitting on the walkway glanced at me and nodded his head. I gave him a head nod in return, being careful to not lock eyes with him. I snuck into the open building and looked around. It was a storage room. Perfect! I did a quick once-over, figuring out what was in what box and then moving onto taking the supplies I needed. I couldn't find any tape, but I did find a couple bottles of glue; I snatched them all. I took note of all the things that I found, and then started to wreak my first stage of havoc.

I did as many trivial things as I could think of with the items found. Things like half-emptying their body wash and shampoo bottles and filling them back up with glue, moving labels around, dumping out a few boxes onto the ground, and I also grabbed a handful of bananas. I planned to hide them in inconspicuous places; this place was hot, and so these would rot and stink up a place nicely. I was in my last stage of mischief when I was rewarded with a pair of scissors. I greedily snatched them up and hid them in a pocket along with a bottle of glue.

I ended up sneaking out of there just as someone else walked in, and I made my way to the next building, the barracks. There were a bunch of men around the entrance, so I skirted it and picked up a handful of pebbles then went on to the next barrack. It was emptier, luckily. Inside, I saw that there were a bunch of bunk beds. Two men were napping in separate beds, but I bet if I was quiet, I could keep them where they were.

I ended up tossing a banana under a bed, sprinkling the pebbles in the sheets of two beds, and a banana inside of another. I was just hunched over one bunk bed when two guys came into the room, talking and laughing. My hairline prickled with fear as I pretended to tidy up the bed I was at, and I prayed that they wouldn't head to one of the beds I had fixed. They didn't stop, just continued on through the building into another room.

I almost melted into a puddle; instead, I let myself slide off the bed and to sit on the floor. I let out a breath and then my eye caught on something. A pair of boots. I looked around, and sure enough, there was a pair of boots under every bed. Another evil smile spread across my face, and I immediately got to snipping every shoelace in half. However, that just didn't placate my need for chaos. I decided I'd make it a little more annoying and grabbed every left boot I could find. A few boots I put into someone's bed, most into the corner of the room behind a box, and the last I delicately placed on one of the napping guy's stomachs. Before I left the building, I pulled the strings off of two pairs of the right boots and stashed them in my pocket for later use. I also added a banana to a remaining boot, just because.

I actually was laughing as I exited the building, excited about my revenge. Man, the look on their faces when they see all the shit that I'm pulling… I only wish that I would have a—

"Yo Tito, what're you doing in there?"

There was a guy right in front of me. I looked down and quickly moved around him.

"Tito!"

Oh shit. What if he was talking to me? I glanced up just as he pushed me on the shoulder.

"The fuck you walking away from me for?" It was some guy. I didn't remember seeing him before, so he wasn't one of my guards; he didn't know what I looked like. I looked back down quickly, shrugged, and grumbled some kind of answer. I kept walking, afraid he'd find me out.

"Fine, bitch. Catch you later, I guess."

I let out my breath again. I couldn't believe that I just walked away from that. I glanced over my shoulder to see if he was still watching me; he was. Scared, I turned quickly and snuck behind the next building; I stood there, waiting to see if he'd follow me, but he didn't.

Okay, this was starting to get a little scary. I'd have to quickly finish my tasks and then head in for the pièce de résistance. Fixing my hat and tying the bandana a little tighter, I immediately got to work.

* * *

**A/N: Man, I love this girl. Just wait till next chapter; it's a good one.**


	4. Peacock

**A/N: Happy Friday, everyone! Here is my weekend gift to you. :) I may have to limit my posting of chapters to Fridays, only because the workload here at college is increasing. However, this story is my stress reliever. So much fun to write to it!**

**And holy crap, you guys. :D Please keep the reviews, views, and favorites a'coming! It seems like every time I check my email, I have something new from you guys. I can't tell you how much those mean to me. Seriously. :]  
**

**Anyway, enough of my rambling! This is all for you guys.  
**

**Stay calm and Vaas on! ;)  
**

* * *

I was very pleased with my labor. Now there were only two things left to do: prank Vaas, and get caught. I had gauged it to be something like three hours since I had gotten out; I believed that the guards would go and check on 'me' soon, but will only find… Tito, I guess his name was. I probably didn't have much time left before I could drop my pranks and just blend in.

Walking into the animal building once more, I looked around. I licked my lips and then nodded. I unhooked the doors on the boars' and goat's cages, and then swung them open. The goat immediately took off while the boars needed some coaxing. I herded them all towards the door before shouting and slapping them to get them to run out of the building in a hurry, squawking and oinking, sweeping the chickens along with them. I laughed and waited until I heard a commotion outside, and then left out the back door. I snuck back to the main building and watched as men scrambled to catch the fleeing animals. It was comical, watching them all run all over the place and into each other, animals in a frenzy.

I was just about to run back into the building and try to get Vaas to run out into the fray so I could mess his shit up, but I didn't have to. He came out of the door just as I was about to come around the corner of the building, so I stopped and hid quickly, peeking out at him.

At first, he looked surprised. I grinned, waiting for him to freak out, but instead, he smiled. Then, he started laughing. He was only stopped when a guard came running out of the building and almost knocked him down.

"Sorry, sorry Vaas."

"Watch it. You wanna get in on the rodeo, too?" He motioned to his men running around.

"Uh… no. Vaas, it's that girl. She… well, Tito was on watch, and…"

Vaas's face fell. All trace of mirth was gone. "Are you fucking kidding me? Not again. Where is she? Where the fuck is she? Did she get away?"

"Well…"

"I'm gunna murder that bitch!" fumed Tito, stomping out of the building wearing nothing but boxers. Dried blood clung to the side of his head. I almost felt bad, but then he said, "I swear once I find that little cunt I'll rip her into a million pieces!" and I didn't feel bad anymore. Fuck you, Tito. You deserved it.

Vaas looked him up and down and laughed, shaking his head. "A girl, Tito. You let a girl get the better of you. You are a fucking idiot. Forget about the girl and get the animals back into the pen. I'll take care of this."

"Are you serious?" growled Tito.

Vaas looked at him. "Did I fucking stutter?" he shouted, taking a menacing step towards Tito.

"Ah, shit, no," he said, backing up. "I'm on it."

"Yeah you better be!" shouted Vaas after him as he leapt into the fray just in his boxers. Vaas watched a little longer and then laughed again.

By now, all the animals had been caught and were being shepherded back into their cages. When the men slowly shuffled back out of the building, Vaas cleared his throat.

"Listen up, you guys. Listen, listen here. While you guys were all chatting and having a fun time chasing the piggies, we had an escape." He nodded and crossed his arms. "Yeah, that's right. Another fucking escape. And it wasn't just anyone—it was the girl that I had in this building. Now. I need you all to search for her. You had better find her alive, and if you don't find her, don't bother coming back to camp. She could be anywhere."

Shit. Well, I guess I had a good run. Time to put on my best game face and just run for the high score now.

Vaas stopped and looked at all of the men. "What the fuck are you staring at me for? Go look! Fuck. First one to find her gets a day off, will that make you move? Come back when it gets dark out, we'll talk again." The men did get into action then.

Keeping with my disguise, I scurried off with the majority of them to go search. I'd stay busy for a bit and strike when Vaas left the main building. While making it look like I was searching, I made my way over to the animals once more. There were two guys in there looking around, so I joined them. They had some pretty raunchy, disgusting things to say about me, but I kept my head down and stayed out of their conversation. I was really hoping that these two guys were not the ones that would find me; they made the other two guys I had heard earlier seem like saints.

Once they left, I stopped my pretend searching. I stationed myself right near the door, watching Vaas. It took a few painstaking minutes of just standing there before a new commotion started in one of the barracks and he made his way over to it. I took the opportunity and bolted out of my place and straight into the main building, making a beeline for his office.

I looked around. It didn't seem too bad; a desk, big map on the wall, stuff all over. Rather disorganized, but then again, I didn't expect any less from a guy like Vaas. There was a door which I assumed led to his personal quarters, but I had no time for going in there. I pulled out my glue and scissors and wasted no time in pettily messing a few things up. Misplaced books, unplugged devices, snipped shoelaces, glued the tips of pens and pencils… There was more, but I don't want to spoil the surprise. Hurriedly, I put the glue and scissors back into my pants and left.

Not a moment too soon; I almost literally ran into Vaas as I exited the building. I immediately put my head down and muttered a gruff, "Sorry."

"No luck, amigo?"

I shook my head and walked around him. "Not in there. Nope."

He grunted. "Keep looking. It's almost dark out; everyone will be back soon. Ugh, mother fucker!" he swore, going into the building.

A smirk tore across my face as I kept my head down and headed back towards the animals once more. Now I really was in the high score range; I just fooled the fucking master himself. And he said I was easy! He'd be eating those words in a bit. All I had to do now was wait this out a little longer, and then I'd end my game.

For the next boring hour or so, I went back to pretend searching in the animal building. Whenever people came in, I would pretend to search, and when no one was in the building, I'd pet the animals or just mill about. It made for a nice pattern, working well. It didn't take a long time for it to get too dark out; everyone slowly slunk back into camp without any prize. I matched their expressions and followed them to where they were gathering: the fire pit. Vaas stood with his hands on his hips in front of his building again, above the pit, waiting.

I stood at the back of the group, but then wormed my way closer to the middle.

"So. Any luck?" asked Vaas, looking around.

I heard a few muffled answers, but it was obvious they were embarrassed that they hadn't even found a lead. I couldn't have been happier.

"I said, did you have any luck? Fuck, I must be going deaf or something. I didn't hear one answer from you guys."

One brave guy cleared his throat. "We think she may have gone upstream. There were some tracks around there; she could have kept to the water."

"Finally, an answer! You think she went up the stream, huh? Uphill? Maybe. You get to go look, then. Go on, go look." The guy stood there a little dumbfounded, mouth opening and closing like a fish. "Go on! Get out of here! I said go look!" The guy finally caught on and wormed his way out of the group and out of the camp.

Vaas looked around. "Any other ideas? Huh?"

No one wanted to go looking in a jungle at night, so they stayed silent. I mean, I honestly couldn't blame them. I knew it was bad out there, but if grown men with weapons were afraid of it, then I really wouldn't have a chance of surviving it on my own. I was glad I had decided to stay here and just take this route instead.

"Are you really fucking kidding me… are you all that stupid? You didn't even find one lead? Do any of you fucks at least have _any_ ideas? Huh? Any bright ideas flying around in your heads?"

A plan zipped into my mind. I would have fun with this. Slowly, I raised my hand.

Vaas scoffed. "What is this, grade school? The fuck is it?"

I cleared my throat and said with my best gruff manly accent, "Uh, you could always just try asking nicely. See if she answers."

I could almost feel the shock around me as if it were tangible. I was glad that I had a bandana on my face to hide the giant grin I was sporting. A few guys glanced at me, asking with their eyes if I was looking for a death wish.

Vaas just stared at me for a second, but then laughed. "I see we have a funny guy. That's cute, that's real cute. Just call her, huh? Well at least it's an idea." He took a breath. "Hey, girl!" he suddenly shouted towards the sky, opening his arms wide. "Where are you, huh? Come on out! Come back to camp! It's nighttime and we wanna hold your hand and read you a fuckin' bed time story!" There was a general quiet chuckle from the group, though it felt a little ominous.

Vaas looked back down at me with a crazy look in his eyes, arms still out wide.

Man, it was fun while it lasted. I dropped my man accent. "Well, since you asked nicely…" I pulled the bandana off my face and lifted the hat off my head. I shook my head, my hair settling around my shoulders, and then looked up at Vaas.

The crazy in his eyes was snuffed out immediately. His arms dropped slowly as everyone turned to look at me, absolutely silent.

If I could only have one wish for my entire life, it would be to have had a camera to take a picture of the look of shock and surprise on Vaas's face. It was entirely, beautifully, flawlessly my victory. I couldn't have asked for a better moment. He was stunned, and so were all the guys around me.

I couldn't help but let a crazy grin tear across my face. I had won. I wasn't easy. I _owned_ this stage right now. I lifted my hands a little. "Didn't you call for me? Or were you looking for someone else?"

The guys finally seemed to find themselves again. A few rushed forward and grabbed me, capturing me. It was fine; I had done everything I had set out to do. That and more. There was a great fuss of noise as the guys tried to keep their dignity, saying they knew it was me all along, that they knew something was fishy, that they were just waiting for the right time to catch me.

"Shut the fuck up! Shut the fuck up, all of you!" yelled Vaas, and everyone got quiet. He waved a finger at me. "You are pretty clever. I give you that. Hiding right under my nose." He paused. I noticed that he kind of looked at me differently now. Whether it was still just the defeat on his face, some sort of connection, or something else, I didn't know. But the look he was giving me had me feeling much more like an equal. Like I was a person, not just property. I liked it. "Bring her here." I made sure to stay locked with his eyes as the men pulled me through the crowd, up the stairs, and up to him. He looked at me closely. "Put her back in her room," he said quietly. "Someone stand literally right outside of her door at all times. I'll be in in a little bit to talk to her."

I was feeling cheeky still, so I smiled and winked at him before they pulled me away and into the building.

"I can't believe you tricked us like that," said the guy on my right as we came upon my door.

I shrugged. "I just wanted to prove that I wasn't easy. You guys tricked me once, so now we're even."

The guy that opened my door actually smiled a little. "I like your spunk. You're all right in my book."

I smiled back at him. "Thanks!" The other guy pushed me and I stumbled into my room. They closed the door and left me in darkness.

I stood there. Not moving, just standing. Processing all that just happened. I couldn't believe that everything happened as flawlessly as it did. There is no way that Vaas set _that_ escape up; it was purely me. That was my doing. This was me, all me.

I did a little victory dance and couldn't stop smiling. I had so fucking won this battle. Laughing, I sat down on my bed. Now I just had to sit back and relax. It was Vaas's move in this chess game, and I was no longer just a pawn. I had become a stronger piece in this game. Maybe not a queen yet; maybe a rook or a knight or something, but it was a step up. For now, I had moved my piece. I had completed my turn. And believe you me, I only had one thing to say to Vaas now.

Your move.

* * *

**A/N: Smell that? That's the sweet, sweet scent of success. **

**Or maybe dessert. But more likely, success.**

**Enjoy your weekend! I'll be hard at work for the next chapter. Stay tuned! ;)  
**


	5. Parrot

**A/N: Hey everyone! :)**

**Welcome back! I am excited to bring you another chapter of The Tiger and the Bird this Friday. **

**Let's see what Vaas has in store for our heroine this chapter. What will happen to her?**

* * *

The door opened and I blinked, my eyes adjusting to the sudden influx of light. Once I had adjusted, I could see Vaas standing in the doorway. He hesitated, but then came in and slowly sat down on the bed next to me. I felt so proud of myself for tricking him and his men; I bet that doesn't happen too often in this camp. Smirking at him, I asked, "Here to hold my hand and read me my bedtime story?"

He stared at his hands and didn't say anything. My mood diminished a little. It kind of scared me, made me nervous. I couldn't really read him. What if he started screaming at me for getting out? Well he should have expected it from me. I mean, I—

"You know, that was actually pretty clever of you. Escaping like that—using a disguise. I honestly didn't think you had that in you at all. I coulda swore I broke you when you got out the first time." He looked at me, then. Damn, those eyes… good thing I was buoyed up by my pride. I felt like I could easily talk to him, no matter how hot he was. Plus, there was that slight bit of something extra in his eyes now that gave me confidence.

"Well, you thought wrong," I said, grinning. "Really wasn't that tough."

He smirked and shook his head. "Yeah, Tito ain't the brightest crayon in the box."

"Doesn't have too thick of a head, though, luckily. Went down without a sound."

He laughed and I laughed with him. The edgy feeling of being around him was starting to dissipate. He felt more like a person and less like a psycho. He looked at me again. "So why did you do it, huh? You got out but you didn't leave. What was that all about?"

I thought about it for a second, but then smiled. "Because I needed you to notice something," I said, using his words. "I needed you to see that I am many things, but I will never, ever be easy. And if you think that I am, then you are sorely mistaken."

He looked at me for a few seconds, and then, surprising me like always, chuckled once again. "You know, you and I are a lot alike. We really are. You remind me of me, and I rarely see that. I like it. We need more people like us in the world, you know?"

I severely doubted we were really alike, but if he thought I was anything like him, well then… I'd take it as a compliment. If only I had equal power over him, the kind that he held over me. "Yeah, I think I know what you mean," I answered.

He leaned back and used the wall as a back rest. "So you really just broke out to prove to me you aren't easy? I have a feeling that that ain't the whole truth. What're you leaving out, huh? What'd you do on your little jail break?"

I tried to hold back a smile. "I dunno. Some stuff."

He raised an eyebrow. "'Some stuff'? Like?"

I looked out the door, away from him. I was starting to feel nervous again. "If I told you, it would ruin the surprise."

"I fucking hate surprises. You should tell me what you did. I want to know."

I didn't want to get on his bad side when it seemed like I had just gotten onto his good one, but I still really didn't want him to ruin all the hard work I just did. "Trust me, you'll know soon enough. Your men will find out first."

He leaned forward and stared at me. I stared back for a few seconds, but couldn't hold his gaze. So instead, I looked down at the blanket and began picking at it with my hands. He still continued to watch me, trying to read me. I smiled, still looking at the blanket. "Staring won't get it out of me. Sorry."

"Look. We could do this one of two ways," he said quietly. "There's the easy way where you tell me, or the hard way where I _make_ you tell me." His words were laced with poison.

I looked at him quickly. He wasn't kidding. I swallowed. "I…I snipped the shoelaces of everyone's boots." Not everything I did, but maybe letting him in on one thing would appease him.

He immediately burst into laughter, demolishing the tense setting he just created. "You snipped everyone's shoelaces? They're gunna be pissed for sure! I _told_ you you remind me of me. That's the kind of shit that I would have pulled in my younger days. Fuck."

I laughed. "Oh man, I could only imagine. I bet you were a little terror."

"You bet your ass I was!" he laughed. "You wonder how I became leader? Staying a foot ahead of everyone else. That's the shit that gets you ahead. Remember that."

Smiling, I just looked at him. This conversation almost felt normal. But something tugged at my mind. My smile fell and I looked back down at the blanket. "So… so what'll happen to me, then? Am I… you know…" I looked back up at him.

He looked at me for a moment and then leaned over, resting on his arm. He picked at the blanket a little too. "I dunno. Haven't really decided. The guys say that we could make a pretty penny with you, and I agree that we could." It felt like my stomach jumped up into my throat. I swallowed to try to ease the feeling. I knew it; I was going to be sold. I knew it, I knew it. He was just pretending to be nice so I would go easily. He was playing me again, wasn't he? My emotions must have registered very clearly on my face, because Vaas _tsked_ at me. "I told you I haven't really decided yet. Like I said, you remind me of me, and… well…" He stopped playing with the blanket and just looked at his hands. "I dunno. The guys' company gets boring after a while."

I felt my stomach slowly start to settle back down. There was still hope for me. I was still in the clear. It was then that I noticed I didn't like the tension that had appeared in this room once more. I wanted to make him laugh again. Smiling, I said, "This place could really use a woman's touch, anyway. It's messy and stinks of smelly guys."

He grinned and pushed me. "Shut up."

I pushed him right back. "You know it's true! Don't say it isn't."

He looked at me again, smiling this time. Damn, I really liked that smile. It made him seem so much less menacing. "Woman's touch, huh? Well maybe you can start with this room. Because, you know, I wouldn't want to be locked up if I were in your place." He nodded at me. "You probably want a better room, huh. This place isn't that homey. You want a better room?"

I blinked. Did I just hear him right? "Uh… what?"

"An upgrade. This room, it's reserved for prisoners. You remind me of me, and I sure as shit am not a prisoner. You want a better room?"

I nodded quickly. "Uh, yeah! For sure!" I tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. "I mean this room's, you know, beautiful and comfortable and all, but another place would definitely be nicer."

He smiled and clapped me on the shoulder before standing up. "Fine, I'll have the guys fix up the spare room. It'll be nicer than this shit hole, that's for sure."

I stood up as well, in total disbelief that I'd be able to get out of this shitty, bare room. I couldn't believe it.

I was still feeling on top of the world from my escape, along with the good news about not being sold yet, so I felt like I could do anything. Of course, that pretty much meant that I wasn't able to stop myself when I suddenly went reaching for Vaas and hugged him.

He jerked away at first, confused, but then froze.

_Fuck it_, I said in my mind. "Thanks, Vaas. You aren't such a bad dude. You really aren't."

He didn't move for a couple seconds, making me wonder if I had just made a grave mistake, but then I felt him laugh and he patted me in a quick hug. "I'll make sure to remember it." He hastily let go, and I did as well; an awkward air seemed to settle around only myself. "Come on, follow me."

He led me out of the room and down the hall, past his office to one of the closed doors. After unlocking it, I saw that it opened to a nice little room. It was about as big as my bedroom back home, albeit less comfy. There was a light on the ceiling, which was a giant step up from the old room. The bed looked much nicer, too. There was also a small sofa and a tiny tube TV. However, the best part of the room, by far, was the little doorway on the other side of the room that opened to a bathroom. A _real_ bathroom. I even saw a showerhead in there!

Now, mind you, this room couldn't hold a candle even to the crappiest of hotels back home, but at least this was a step up from a (practically literal) shit hole. To me, this new place was perfect.

I let out a slight breath and shook my head. "This is… awesome. Thank you."

He shrugged. "Eh, don't mention it." Then he turned to me. "Now, look. Don't think that you get special privileges now or anything. Don't think that just because you get a fancy room, you can do whatever the fuck you want. You're still mine; I own you, alright? You still tricked me and messed up my camp's shit. You aren't totally off the hook, but at least you have a nicer room. Maybe I'll make you do some chores around here or something. That would probably be good for you."

I rolled my eyes. I knew this wasn't supposed to be a holiday, but I still didn't want to have to do chores; and I was a prisoner, nonetheless. I suppose I would just have to earn my freedom, then. Make Vaas see who I really am, and… and get to know him a little better in the process.

"Okay. I've got work to do, so you… do whatever it is you do. I'll talk to you later." He turned to leave, and I couldn't help myself as my eyes slid down to watch his ass as he walked. I stuck my hands into my pockets, shaking my head slowly. Hot _damn_, was he a fine looking dude. I'm sure he'd look even better with those pants around his ankles…

I shook my head quickly, my face turning red. Damn it, I was _kidnapped_, not on a fucking vacation. I couldn't keep thinking like that, no matter how nice of an ass Vaas had.

I blinked as I noticed my hand was brushing something. I pulled the something out of my pocket and gazed at it for a second. Then, I quickly glanced back up. "Vaas. Wait!"

He spun on his heel, hands clasped. "Uh huh?"

I hid a smile and walked over to him, holding out my hand. "Uh… here." He looked down at my hand, then back up at me, contemplating, before holding his own hand out. I put one of the spare shoelaces that I had taken from earlier into his open palm. He looked at it, confused, but then his eyes glided up to look at my face.

A sly smile spread across his features as he understood. "You little fucking sneak! You got my boots, too, didn't you? Are you—did you—?" He held up the lace, looking at it. "When the fuck did you weasel your way into my office?"

I shrugged, grinning. "_You_ should know; you ran into me. We even talked, but you didn't notice me."

He squinted at me a little, thinking. Going back over his memories. I could tell he remembered seeing me when his eyes widened ever so slightly.

Yeah, how does it feel to be knocked back on _your_ ass, huh? You aren't the only one who can stay one step ahead of the game. I grinned once more.

He wrapped the lace around his hand and shook his head. "Fucking… damn it. You get points. I give you points for this. You're pretty good. Consider this room your reward for outsmarting me. And… and I guess I should say thanks for this." He shook his hand, indicating the lace. But then he pointed at me, serious for a moment. "You listen, though. I always kill anyone who thinks they can outsmart me. _Always_." He stared at me, his light brown eyes sharp as daggers. But then, as always, he surprised me with a smile. "But I told you that I like to play with fire. I'll let you burn a little longer, but know that once we're done with all this foreplay, you're mine. I'll be on top in the end. I always am." Without another word, he strolled out of my room and closed the door.

I almost melted to the floor. I know that what he meant was entirely different from what I was thinking, but… fuck, seriously? How could I have _not_ pulled the innuendo out of that? How could _anyone_ not pull an innuendo out of that?

Grinning like a madman, I spun in a circle with my arms out. I twirled my way over to the couch and flopped down on it, hanging my legs over an arm, grinning at the ceiling. Man, I was in trouble. I shouldn't like him as much as I do; that would just spell trouble for me in the end. But I just couldn't help it when he was so freakin' attractive!

But, you know, I always go with the safe option; I always take myself out of unfamiliar situations. Why can't I be adventurous for once? Why can't I just run with this, see where it takes me? I mean, I honestly don't see a good way out of this situation. I'm stuck here no matter what I do. Why don't I just do this and see what happens?

I sat up and looked around the room. Maybe I would let myself go in this situation. I suppose we'd just have to find out.

For now, though, I could tend to things that I hadn't been able to for a little while; as in, have clean clothes and a nice shower. I was still wearing Tito's clothes over my own. I don't think they had been washed recently, since they had the slight scent of body odor. Paired together with my few days of no shower… I was a downright mess. I could go for a pleasant shower.

* * *

I ended up washing both Tito's and my own clothes with a sliver of soap I had found. Hanging the clothing up near a tiny open window, I hoped that there would be enough air flow for them to dry. I moved to the shower to buy up some time as they dried. I know I shouldn't have expected hot water from the showerhead, but it still made me unhappy when the only thing that came out was room temperature water. It was really hot here, so I suppose it was nice to have a cool-down. Still, even with a strange slight tint to the water and a small shard of soap, it felt great to rinse off the dirt and grime that had accumulated over the past few days. I had even found a shoddy comb that I used to rake through my hair when all was said and done.

After my clothes had dried and I got dressed once more, I used the time to look around the new room. It honestly wasn't as nice as I had originally saw it; I think I was just so impressed with the step up that it blinded me a little. Still, I had to hand it to Vaas for at least letting me into a nicer room.

Of course, the first thing that came to my mind as I looked around the little area was if I could escape if I needed to. The window was too tiny and high up to crawl out of, and the walls were too thick. The only true way out was the door I had come in earlier.

I checked out the bed, which had sheets and a blanket on it. It smelled a little mildewey, but was definitely better than the other room's. Just for the heck of it, I pulled the sheets and pillowcase off the bed and washed and scrubbed those as well, hanging them on the couch to dry. Having water seemed like a luxury now; it felt so nice to have access to it. I couldn't stop using it! I know I wouldn't be taking it for granted when I got back home. _If_… I got back home.

There was really only so much I could do in the room, and so I got bored easily. I had nothing to do. I had tried to get the TV to work, but all I got was fuzz. The left side speaker was shot, so I could only hear static from the remaining one. Not one of the channels worked, though if I squinted my eyes, it looked like something may have been trying to come through on channel four.

Sighing, I shut it off and fell back onto the couch. So much for that idea. I never thought I'd say it, but man, it sucked having more room. Before, when I didn't even have light, all I could do was sit and wait. I only had my own thoughts to keep me company. Now that I had access to stuff, it was just downright boring.

I heard men talking outside my door as they passed. I rolled my head to the side and stared at the door. Maybe I could try escaping again? That would be fun, give me something to do. I honestly didn't think that I could do it again, though, but I was still curious.

Getting off the couch, I walked to the door and put an ear to it. I could hear muffled voices through it, but it didn't sound like anyone was in the direct vicinity of my door. I tried the handle; to my extreme surprise, it was unlocked. Vaas must have forgotten to lock it. My eyebrows shot up as I slowly pulled it open and peeked outside.

I could see right into Vaas's office from here. He was in there, talking to a few men. I allowed myself the pleasure of staring at him for a little bit, my eyes greedily looking over his muscular form. I bit my lip in a smile. I don't know how he stayed so good-looking in this place; it was hot, humid, and dirty, and yet he looked just fine. Maybe the heat didn't bother him that much, since he had probably lived on this island his whole life. I was just used to the colder weather back home; I hated sweating.

The sound of a few guys coming closer scared me into closing the door. I didn't want to be caught, not again. The handle started to turn, and I leaped backwards, keeping away.

Only one guy came in, laughing, holding a tray of food. The men he was talking to turned and went into Vaas's office. The guy closed the door and looked around. "Man, they weren't kidding when they said you got the spare room. Lucky you."

I stayed tense. Then, I recognized him as the nicer guard from earlier, the one who told me he liked my spunk. That I was all right in his book. I relaxed my shoulders. He wasn't a threat. "Nice, isn't it?" I asked, holding my arms out a little. "It could use a little decorating, a little cleaning here and there, but I don't think it's that bad. Though I would kill for some bleach."

Smiling, he handed me the tray of food. "Yeah, not many people use this room. It stays empty; we use it for guests when they come."

I looked over the food; even that looked nicer than the stuff I had had before. "This looks good, thanks a bunch."

"Yeah, yeah no problem."

A few awkward seconds passed as I stared at the food. I glanced up at him to see if he felt it too, but I noticed he looked like he just wanted to pass some time. I recognized his stance, the look on his face; he was bored too. He just wanted some company. I put down the tray of food and then motioned to the couch. "You… uh… wanna chat for a bit?" The moment I said it, I knew it sounded so stupid.

He beamed. "Yeah! Guard duty's getting so annoying, it'll be nice to sit for a little." He sat down and sighed happily. "That's so much better. The chairs out there absolutely suck. You'd think we could have new ones every once and a while, you know? Oh shit, my name's Bayani by the way. It's nice to meet you!"

I smiled and sat on the other side of the couch. "Nice to meet you, too. I… uh, well… excuse me for saying it, but I honestly thought you all were a bunch of assholes. You're, like, the only nice guard I've met so far."

He shrugged. "Some guys around here take their jobs too seriously. I'm just here because it's fun, honestly. Doesn't help that it's good money, too. I mean it's not the most morally pleasing job, but it puts food on the table. The girlfriend sometimes doesn't like it, but she's fine with it if I bring her home a gift every now and then. Gotta provide for her somehow."

"'Morally pleasing'?"

"Yeah. You know, prisoners. Taking people, asking for ransoms. We're also in other businesses, but…" He winked at me. "Trade secrets and all that. Can't go telling everyone and his brother what we do, you know. And technically you are a captive; I shouldn't be telling you anything. But you seem nice enough, so I really don't think it's too bad of a problem."

I laughed. For being a pirate, this guy seemed like a genuinely nice dude. Maybe I could trust him. I relaxed a little more. "That's fine, it's not like there's anyone here who I'd tell anyway."

He grinned. "Good. Wouldn't want to have to kill you just after I met you." He put his hands behind his head and looked around my room. "Shit, this is nicer than my bunk. My bed sucks; I woke up with my back killing me. It felt like I had been sleeping on rocks all night."

I suppressed a smile. "Sleeping on rocks, huh? Maybe you actually _were_ sleeping on rocks. Wasn't just the mattress."

"You know, I did find gravel and dirt on the back of my clothes when I woke up…"

I chuckled and raised my hand a little. "My fault. If I had known it was your bunk, I wouldn't have put them there."

He sat upright. "What?"

"I was out for a lot longer than you guys thought. I wanted to get back at you guys for making a fool out of me when I thought I had escaped initially, so I pulled a few pranks. Put rocks in your beds, hid some bananas, switched boxes. The animals; I let them out, too…" I didn't know why I was telling him all this when I didn't even want Vaas to know any of it. Maybe I just didn't want Vaas to dislike me, when Bayani was just a friend. I looked up at him. "Oh, and if you can help it, I'd stay away from the shampoo and body wash in the bottles."

He laughed. "I knew something was up with that shit when my hair started to stand straight up after using it. What did you do to it?"

"Dumped some out, substituted glue for it."

Shaking his head, he said, "So that's what it was! It was you, then, huh? Shit, that was sneaky! I knew you were a good choice to befriend." He smiled. "You know, I hope Vaas doesn't sell you. I think you'd be a lot of fun to have around here. You aren't like all the other whiny bitches that only cry and scream; you can't even get a single word in with them before they start freaking out. Not good conversationalists, that's for sure."

Yeah, well, I didn't think any of those other prisoners had a giant crush on the psychopath leader. I laughed sheepishly. "Yeah…" I bit my lip.

He could see I was a little uneasy, so he switched the topic. "So how you like it here, huh? Nice, isn't it?"

I almost laughed. "Really? I suppose it's… nice. For as nice as a pirate camp could be, I suppose… It's a bit hot for my taste. And it smells a little."

Bayani shrugged. "You get used to it. It's really not all that bad; I just think of it as being on holiday. That gets me through the hot days. The nights are awesome, though. You can see all the stars and everything. Only bad things I've really seen here are the predators and Vaas when he's in a bad mood."

Grinning, I said, "Yeah, I could see how you could compare the two. What's his deal, anyway?"

"His deal?"

"Yeah. What's he all about? Is he really as crazy as he acts? Because I think he's got a nice side to him that he just doesn't like to show."

He stared at me for a few seconds, and then smiled and looked away. "He _can_ be kinda crazy sometimes. I think that's what makes him a great leader, though. Sometimes, fear is a leader's greatest aspect. He is a few tools short of a set, if you know what I mean, but… but he's not a bad guy. He does what he has to to make a living. He does what the boss says, you know? It's what you gotta do if you wanna survive." He looked around secretively and then leaned closer and lowered his voice. "If you ask me, he's actually a really nice guy. I honestly think he just has to keep the scary, crazy persona so people are afraid of him, so he keeps his status. Wonder why we all stay and work for him instead of leave? It's because he's actually a pretty good guy. We all like him; we'll do anything he says." He leaned back and raised his eyebrows. "You tell him I told you that and I'll kill you. I'm serious, I will. We're supposed to be a terrifying group of kidnapping pirates; if word got out that we're just a bunch of fuckin' softies, we'd be out of business. You got me?"

Woah. Vaas actually… wasn't a bad guy? It was hard to believe. My mind didn't want to believe it; it told me that Bayani was just saying things to placate me. But my heart… my heart believed it wholeheartedly. Pun intended, too—I really wanted to like him. I wanted something to back up my crush on Vaas. If anyone knew how I felt about him, they'd think I was crazy. It felt nice to have a fact about him to fall back on: that he really wasn't that insane.

The more I thought about it, though, the more my mind and heart battled. My rational side told me that Vaas wasn't anything more than a crazy, drugged out warlord. He kidnapped people and sold them for money, for fuck's sake; there's no redeemable trait in him. But my other side, that damn other side… it asked what if. What if Bayani was telling the truth? What if there actually are more layers to Vaas than I thought? What if it really was okay for me to feel this way towards him? What if, what if, what if.

"Promise not to tell?"

He brought me out of my thoughts. I blinked a bit, and then found my words again. "Oh, yeah. I promise, Bayani."

He smiled before closing his eyes and resting his head on the back of the couch. "Good; I'm glad I don't have to kill you. And you know what? Just call me Bay; it sounds too formal the other way."

I grinned. It was nice to know that I had made a friend in this crazy, ridiculous place. It made the whole experience feel less scary, less unfamiliar. I guess I could say that I was… was starting to enjoy being here. I don't mean that I was like incredibly happy to be here, but… things could be worse, you know? I guess I was better off here for now. Not like I had anywhere to go.

Suddenly, there was yelling and all a manner of commotion outside. Bay's eyes shot open and he jumped up. "Shit, I'll talk to you later. Sounds like something's going on." He bolted out of the room, not bothering to close the door.

I didn't wait another second. I jumped off the couch after him and peeked out the door. I saw guys go running by to see what was going on, and soon after, Vaas went running, too.

I opened my door wide, to show that I wasn't keeping this escape hidden, and then followed the guys outside to see what the hell was going on.

* * *

**A/N: Aww man. So what did you think? Let us know. :)**

**I'll see you again soon! I'm so excited to get another chapter out to you guys. You all rock! :)**


	6. Ugly Duckling

**A/N: Hey, everyone! :) Good to see you again!**

**My friend pointed something out that I forgot to tell you. I enjoy writing my story in the first person view because I really want you to feel like it's _you_ that's in the story. Our heroine doesn't have a name, because she's you. You're her. **

**Her name is your name, her backstory is your backstory. I feel like it's just so much more personal that way. I mean, ****Vaas shouldn't be just for one person; he should be shared. ;) So this story is for you personally. **

**Anyway, I'll get on with it. I hope you enjoy this chapter! The camp is waiting for you! ;)**

* * *

I came to a skidding halt so that I didn't run into the guys crowded outside the door. Standing on my tiptoes, I tried to look over their shoulders, to see what they saw, but they were too tall. I muscled my way past them to come to the front of the group.

Two guys were wrestling on the ground, yelling at each other.

"My fucking boot was cut! I found my other one in your bed! Why the hell was it in your bunk?" shouted one guy, pinning the other to the ground.

The second flung him off quickly and threw a few punches his way. "I told you, I didn't do shit!"

A punch connected and the guy went reeling. With a shout, he ran back at the other man and tackled him to the ground.

I noticed that almost all of the guys standing around the fight were either missing one boot or didn't have one tied. I grinned; the camp was crumbling a little, and it was all because of me. I crossed my arms and enjoyed the fight, giggling to myself as the guys continued to shout back and forth.

That is, until Vaas spoke up.

"And what the _hell_ do you two think you're doing?" he said, striding towards them. They continued to fight and shout while the bystanders shied away from Vaas. The two poor guys didn't even notice as he came closer.

"Hey!" he shouted, but they still didn't notice him. He glared and rolled his eyes to the sky. "Fucking—" He pulled out his pistol, cocked it, and fired at the sky. "You fucking listen when I speak to you!" he shouted.

The guys immediately stopped that time. Their shocked faces looked up at him.

"I asked what the _hell_… you two fucks were doing!" he shouted, crossing his arms. He still held the pistol in one hand.

"Vaas, he—I couldn't find my boot, and when I looked around, I found it in his bunk, and—"

"I didn't do anything! I didn't take it!"

"Yeah you did! I know you did, you are still mad at me for getting you in trouble the other day!"

"I didn't do a damn—"

"Hey!" barked Vaas once more, and the two shut up immediately. "What did I just say, huh? What did I just say? I asked you _what_ you were doing. Not why the fuck you were doing it."

The two guys blinked. One spoke up. "We uh… were… fighting?"

Vaas nodded and started to walk in a circle around them. "There. Finally, we get a fucking answer! So you two were fighting. Right out in the open like a pair of dogs, huh? Now, see, correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought that I was training a group of men, not a bunch of mutts." He had circled halfway around them and stopped. "Do I look like a fucking dog trainer to you? Huh? Do I?" he suddenly shouted, waving his pistol around. "I don't think I do! But you know what? Since you two think that you're just a couple of animals, why don't you go stay with them? Both of you, go clean out the animal pen. See just how you feel after that."

The two guys looked at each other and then back at Vaas. "Do we really—"

"Did you even fucking listen to me?" he shouted again, starting to go hoarse, waving the handgun at the pair of them. "Are you really about to ask if you have to do this? Go fucking clean!"

The two scrambled out of the way of Vaas's anger and ran off to the animal building. He watched them, letting his arm down to hang at his side. He shook his head and put the gun away. "Miserable bunch of shits, I tell you."

The rest of the men watching laughed a little, and Vaas's head snapped up. "Laughing? What, you all think that was funny?" The men shuffled from side to side, looking everywhere but at Vaas. "It was a waste of my fucking time, is what it was. The rest of you are just as bad! What the hell is up with your shoes, huh? Where are they?"

No one answered. They all didn't want to be on the business end of Vaas's gun, either. I couldn't help but smile; I knew I was the one who was gunna come out on top in this game. Vaas circled come back around and was near me again.

"Really? No answers. Again. Just like when the girl got out. Okay, you know what? Fuck you all, you're going to clean too. I want to see every window here shining." He started pointing at people. "You, sweep all the fucking dirt off the pathways. You scrub the floors, and you all make your racks; damn it, I want this place sparkling! Get moving!" There was a collective groan from the men. I could only laugh at this huge scene that I had caused. _Me_. "Don't fucking whine at me for this! You all did it to yourselves. And you wanna know what started this?" He turned to me, pulled me to his side, and clamped an arm down on my shoulders. My breath caught in my throat. "Right here. Wonder why your boots are missing? Why the laces are cut? Huh? Why shit's missing? Because of her. You all let her escape, and this is your punishment for that. Now go on, get to fucking work!"

I felt the color drain from my face as a bunch of glares were shot my way before the men headed off to do their respective duties. Vaas was beaming. He shook my shoulder and sighed happily. "Ah, smell that? That's the smell of defeat, babe." He looked down at me and winked. "Told you I'd come out on top. Told you, didn't I?"

I frowned and looked away. All he had succeeded in was embarrassing me and turning his camp against me. What an ass. I shook his arm off my shoulders and turned to go back to my room. A hand caught my shoulder and spun me around. Vaas was still smiling. "Oh you think you're going to be let off the hook, chika? No, no. I told you before, remember? You're still mine. You don't get special privileges. You're one of us for now. Go scrub the floors in the bunker. Supplies are in the building with—oh, that's _right_, you already know where all the supplies are, huh?" he asked sarcastically, grinning. "I guess you can get those on your own. Once you're done with the floors, go help out the boys with whatever else needs done, all right?"

I glared at him. "You suck."

He shrugged. "You did this to yourself. Now go on, go get to work scrubbing before I change my mind and make you help the boys clean out the animal pen."

Okay, fine. He may have beaten me this round, but I'd get him back later. This battle wasn't over. I don't care how hot he is; he's going down. _I'm_ coming out on top, mark my words. I held my head up high and turned on my heel, striding my way over to the supply room to find supplies to wash his stupid floor, hoping that I'd at least retain some dignity by walking away from him.

* * *

I dipped the mop in the bucket of water I had and then started scrubbing. "Stupid Vaas, being so stupidly smart with his stupid… attractiveness," I growled. I hadn't scrubbed a floor in a while, so my arms got tired easily. After just a few minutes I had to take a small break. A few guys came by and walked all over my clean floor, mucking it all up. "Hey, hey watch it! I just mopped there," I cried, frustrated.

They all kept walking, save one. The guy looked at me, then at the floor, and then wiped his feet all over the place before continuing on with his buddies. I glared after them and looked down at the mud they had just tracked in. I angrily scrubbed at the floor once more, pretending it was their faces. I scrubbed the idiotic grins right off. Fucking assholes.

Bay told me that Vaas was really a nice guy; I was starting to second guess him on that. I think my crush on the leader was just clouding my judgment, because this physical labor was just ridiculous. Speaking of Bay, I wished that he were here scrubbing the floors with me so I'd at least have someone to vent to. I mean, I still couldn't let him know how sexy I found Vaas to be, but at least I could share a few of my thoughts with him. He was the closest thing to a friend here.

In fact, the whole loneliness was finally starting to inch its way into my system. The bubble of suspended reality I had created around myself was starting to dissolve. As much as I had previously told myself that this wasn't a vacation, I honestly… hadn't believed it. I mean, I was kidnapped by a sexy-ass pirate named Vaas. I had escaped and evaded capture in a way that I had only ever seen in movies. I had a nice room with a working shower and a fine bed. Hell, I hadn't once gone hungry while I was here. I was forgetting that I was a prisoner. I was forgetting that this really, truly, was _not_ a vacation.

The thought settled around me like a black cloud, and I frowned. Maybe I really was going about this all wrong. I _should_ be trying to escape, not fantasize about the psycho leader. I stopped scrubbing and leaned on the mop. Pff, if only that were as easy as it sounded; I just couldn't get Vaas off my mind! He was just so fucking hot, and I'll be damned if I don't get out of this place without making out with him at least once. I had to. I bit my lip and smiled a little, just imagining what it would be like, making out with him. Damn… you know, I bet he was an amazing kisser. I bet he was strong and rough, too; just the way I liked it. I bet he'd push me up against a wall and force his tongue into my mouth, pinning me so I couldn't do a damn thing about it, and then he'd kiss his way to my ears and nip them a little…

I shook my head roughly, still smiling. I scrubbed at the floor roughly, grinning now. Damn Vaas, that stupid, sexy Vaas, for making me feel this way. I couldn't help it; he just made me feel like I was on fire. The way he looked, the way he held himself, the way he just _knew_ he had control over everyone he met… it was so damn hot. And holy hell, his muscles, the boundaries of his body… that man held a lot of power in his figure, and I found that deeply attractive. All that strength just under that skin waiting to be released…

I stopped again and wiped off my forehead. I couldn't help myself; he just captured my full attention. It both scared and seduced me at the same time. Why did he have to be so fucking hot?

"Hey, bitch, get back to work," growled a guy who walked by, pulling me from my thoughts.

I glared at him and recognized him as the guy who had thought I went upstream when I had escaped. "Why don't you?" I retorted.

He turned and faced me menacingly. "What did you say?"

I quickly regretted it. He was an actual pirate who would actually hurt me. I thought I just got done telling myself this really wasn't a vacation, and I _could_ get injured. Instead of replying, I just glared at him and then went back to mopping.

"Yeah, that's what I thought." He spit in my direction. "You did this to us; you had _better_ be part of the working crew." He walked off.

I kept my eyes down, glaring at the floor as I scrubbed the shit out of it. Stupid floor, stupid pirates, stupid camp. I mean, it's not like I wanted to get them into trouble; I had just wanted to show them that I could beat them. Maybe next time I'd have to go about it differently; I'd have to think ahead, make sure it couldn't get me in trouble like this all had.

I was just mopping, fuming, for a while by myself. I had almost forgotten that I wasn't the only one in the building. A few more guys walked through my cleaning area again, and I sighed angrily under my breath. I was about to tell them off again for walking across my clean floor, but stopped. I recognized these two men; they were the two that were saying nasty things about me when I was searching earlier in the animal pen. I felt the color drain from my face and dropped my head. Maybe they hadn't seen me. Maybe they'd just pass by and leave me alone.

"Hey, hey girl." Wishful thinking on my part that they hadn't seen me. Fuck. "Hey girl, come here."

I swallowed and just kept cleaning until a boot came into my sight and stepped on the end of the mop, stopping me. I looked up at the guy. His was smiling a coy, creepy smile at me. The other guy was right behind him, wearing the same disturbing smile. "What? What do you want?"

"You know, for as much trouble as you are, you are one fine piece of ass. If I had the money, I'd buy you."

I shuddered and the other guy laughed. "Yeah. You'd share, too, right?"

"Hell yeah," said the first guy, leaning close to me. "Of course I'd share. I'm sure all of the guys would just love to really get to know that pussy."

I stepped away. "Look, I'm doing work. Get out of here. I'm not causing any trouble."

The two laughed ominously. "You watch your back, cunt," said one as they started to leave, finally. "I may just be cumming all over it." The other guy made a jerking-off motion and laughed. The one reached over and slapped my ass before finally leaving.

Tears started to rim my eyes as I scrubbed the floor as hard as I could, trying to push everything out of my thoughts. I was being punished for messing up this camp, Vaas was trying to teach me a lesson I bet. Okay, I had learned my lesson. I won't go against what he says. I'd cave, I'd let him win. I just wanted to go back to my room, the safety of my room and my own thoughts…

I sniffed and wiped a hand across my nose. I had been wrong earlier. This wasn't supposed to be a fun place for me. I _was_ a prisoner. I was supposed to be _sold_. This _wasn't_ a fun place to be. I wasn't supposed to be enjoying my time here; I had just been dealt a great first hand, I had won the pot. This hand, though… I was sitting with only a high card and was gambling all my chips away.

You know, I had always been a terrible poker player.

Something wet trailed down my cheek and I stopped once more. I blinked and noticed it was a tear. I scrubbed it off my face quickly. If there was one thing that I now knew, it was that I couldn't show weakness. I wasn't in this spot because I had behaved; if I had done that, I'd still be sitting in the dark shit hole, waiting to be sold. No, I was here because I wanted to show them that I wasn't easy. Here I am, pitying myself, talking about poker, when I should be thinking about the important things. No; I wasn't going to be weak. I wasn't going to let these pricks walk all over me. I am a main player in this game, and they were not going to sweep me under the rug. I had to maintain my position; I told myself I'd show them that I wasn't weak, and that was just what I'd do.

* * *

The rest of the day passed in much of the same way. I'd try to do my job, but some pirates would walk by and heckle me or mess up my work. No matter what, I kept my head held high and went through with it. They all deserved the pranks I had pulled on them. I wasn't sorry for what I did. Every time they harassed me, I felt less and less apologetic.

When I had finally completed all my tasks and slunk back to my room in the main building, I found Vaas waiting for me there. He had made himself at home, lying on my couch with his feet up on the armrest. I was too tired to tell him off, so I just ignored him and went over to my bed.

"Have a good day, chika? Enjoy your time with my boys?"

I flopped onto the bed and sighed. I just grunted in reply.

He rolled off the couch and stood up. "Huh? I didn't hear you. What did you say?"

I turned my head and watched him. "Yeah. It was great. Lovely. Enjoyed every second of it."

Vaas grinned and leaned against my bed, crossing his arms. "I'm glad! Good to get a nice taste for the place." He watched me smiling. I was too tired to make up a comeback; my arms and lower back ached, and I couldn't wait to just get to sleep. "Are you mad at me now, hmm? Do you hate me?"

I rolled my eyes. I wasn't going to play into his game. So instead, I smiled and pushed myself up, standing to face him. "No. No, I don't." I closed my eyes slightly at him. "You really think you can get the better of me, don't you?"

He laughed. "Think? No, babe, I _know_ I can get the better of you. I _told_ you I'd come out on top."

I took a step closer to him. "I wouldn't be so sure. This is still just a battle. You haven't won the war yet. I still can make my way to the top. Don't doubt me," I said quietly, smiling.

He grinned and took a step closer to me. "Oh I don't doubt you. I'm waiting for your next move. You know, in fact, I _dare_ you to make a move."

Another step. "I promise you that I will. When you least expect it, I'll knock you back onto your ass again, and you won't know what hit you. You'll see."

Another. "Oh yeah? You think so? I don't think you'll feel that way if I sell you."

"Not if I kill you first."

We were practically touching now, we were so close. Those eyes, his light brown eyes just stared back into mine. I could almost feel the heat passing between us. The hot tension we had just created crackled through the air like electricity. I could feel it running up my spine, sending shivers across my shoulders.

The way he made me _feel_… I had never felt anything like it. I felt so sexually _charged_, like every muscle in my body was poised, just waiting to go.

I know it wasn't just me that felt it. He had this slight hood to his eyes, and I could see his eyes slide down to my lips.

I suddenly felt a rush of power in me, and I immediately knew how I could hold the upper hand in this. Just as he leaned in a little closer to me, I smiled sexily and turned away, denying him. I walked away a little and looked over my shoulder at him. For a split second, I saw it; I held control over him. I was the one with the power. I was the one he wanted. The thought buoyed me up, presented me with a dominant feeling that gave me a deep instinctive pleasure. I shook my head, tossing my hair over my shoulder, and grinned. "I guess we'll just have to wait and see who's on top in the end, huh?"

For a second, I saw something feral in him, but then he blinked and it disappeared. "You're lucky that I actually respect you a little, or else I'd have gotten rid of you on day one. Most prisoners wouldn't stay that long at all." He walked over to me slowly, but I still kept my back to him. He leaned down a little, his head right at my ear. "You know," he said quietly, "you cause a lot of trouble. Messing up my camp, confusing my men, jumbling my supplies…" I could feel his breath on my ear, and it was sending shivers down my back. "You're a damn troublemaker, is what you are. And you should know by now that I deal harshly with troublemakers." I closed my eyes. He was tempting me, I knew it. I could still feel his breath on my ear and neck. He was trying to beat me again. He was trying to get back at me for denying him.

He knew how I felt about him, and he was using it to his advantage. It was working, too. That sneaky mother fucker! If only I could be more like that. But no, I had to stick to my original plan and not cave in; I couldn't deviate. I was going to win this, I was going to be the one to…

I could feel his lips on my neck. I practically melted into a puddle on the floor. My eyes rolled back a little and my lids slid closed. My mouth opened a bit as all my senses became attuned to the exact spot where his skin touched mine. I couldn't think, I couldn't make coherent thoughts; I could only think of what was possibly to come. What would happen, what we'd do.

Then, he pulled away and I blinked my eyes open. I turned around to see him walking away from me. He was wearing a snarky grin, one that just screamed that he knew what he was doing to me. "See you tomorrow, bright and early, for some more _chores_." He bit his lip, raised an eyebrow, and then left the room.

Still staring after him, I fell back onto my bed. That image of him biting his lip like that stuck in my mind. I couldn't stop seeing it, even after I had closed my eyes.

Damn it, he was getting the better of me. He was exploiting my weakness, forcing me to my knees in our stupid little game of who was better. I mean, not that I'd even really mind being on my knees in front of him, but…

I clapped my hands to my face. Ugh, why did he make me think like this? Why did he make me _feel_ like this? I felt some instinctive need to just… do anything he asked. I felt drawn to him, like I could do anything he wanted. Just the thought of being close to him made my heart beat faster. Thoughts of kissing him made my imagination run rampant. I was getting close to a breaking point, and it was all because he was exploiting my weakness for him.

My door opened again, and the breath caught in my throat. What if he was back? What if he decided he'd just have his way with me or something? I sat up immediately, searching for him.

I'm not sure if I was more disappointed or relieved to see Bayani peeking his head in this time. I let out the breath that hopped into my throat. "Come on in," I said, rubbing my face. My tiredness had suddenly sunk back into my system, stripping me of energy.

Bay grinned and walked in, holding his hands behind his back. "I have a gift for you!"

I sat up a little. "A gift?"

He nodded and came up to me. "Look away."

I narrowed my eyes at him but did as he asked and looked away. I heard a slight thud and then he said, "Okay!"

I turned back. He had placed a bottle of bleach on my bedside table. He had a silly grin on his face. Seeing my questioning look, he said, "You said earlier that you'd kill for a tub of bleach. I thought I'd help you out and bring you some myself. Save a guy from being killed."

I looked back and forth between him and the bottle and couldn't help but laugh. My shoulders slumped and I just let out a breath. Smiling, I said, "Bay, that's so sweet of you, but… but—" I started laughing. It just caught me as hilarious. His smile slowly waned, so I stopped laughing. Grinning, though, I said, "I'm sorry. I've just been working and cleaning all day. That's really nice of you, thank you very much. That was awesome of you."

He looked pleased with himself. "Don't mention it. I mean, like, really don't mention it; I know I'm awesome. I don't need you to tell me as well."

I shot him a look paired with a smile. "You're terrible. Get out of here before I make you help me scrub down the place."

He winked at me. "Okay, sure, _Vaas_. Whatever you say." He turned to leave and I couldn't help but smile at him. Man, this place just kept surprising me with its members. Bay was a pretty cool guy, and I was thankful for him. I watched him as he closed the door.

I smiled down into my lap. I was glad that he had made the first move to come and say hi to me. It made me feel like this place wasn't just a scary prison camp. Why, even the—

The door opened again and my head shot up. It was Bay again, and he was grinning. "How's the cleaning going?"

I gave him a confused smile. "I haven't started. I'm gunna go to bed. Get out of here!"

"Okay, okay!" The door closed again.

I cocked an eyebrow, laughing. A few seconds passed, and the door opened again.

"Done yet?"

"No, go away!"

"All right."

The door closed.

This time I stood up and watched the door, arms crossed, waiting for it to open again.

Of course, it did.

"How about now?"

I really laughed that time. "No! Damn it, I'm going to bed! I'll see you tomorrow!"

He laughed too. "Okay… goodnight!" Once more, the door closed.

I rolled my eyes and waited, sure that he was going to open the door again. After a few seconds, it still hadn't opened, so I decided that maybe he had given up. I turned to my bedside table and looked over the bleach. I hoped it wasn't one of the ones that I had dumped out and poured water into instead. Opening the container, the distinct smell of disinfectant hit me. I was glad that Bay had found a good one. I replaced the cap and put it down.

I heard the door open once more, and I smiled. "I thought I told you to—" I whipped around and then stopped immediately.

It wasn't Bay. The man wasn't facing me as he closed the door, but when he turned around, I saw who it was.

Tito.

* * *

**A/N: Aww man. And he's not just here to say hi; he's mad. **

**See you in a bit with the next chapter! ;)**


	7. Pheasant

**A/N: Hi all! :D **

**First off, I just wanted to thank you guys. I got the most amount of views and visitors on this story in one month than I have ever had, ever! **

**I mean seriously! I was just about 80 views short of 3,000 views, and over 1,000 visitors when February ticked into March. I couldn't believe it! Those numbers are so amazing to me, and it's all because of you guys. :] So thank you. Thank you so much!**

**Enough of my babbling. Here's a new chapter for you.**

**What's Tito up to? And what about our heroine? **

**Read on. :)**

* * *

I didn't like the way Tito closed the door. There was something off about the way he closed it so slowly, so quietly, like he didn't want to be discovered. Any tired feeling I had fled my body, and I was immediately put on alert. I took a step back without noticing it.

"C-can I help you?" I asked, watching him.

He had been looking over the room, but when I spoke, his eyes shot to me. Instead of his usual red garb, he was wearing a dark green camo print. The colors matched that of the jungle. He was silent for a few moments, but then slowly started walking towards me. "You're causing quite a stir in the camp. Messing shit up, stealing things, setting animals free…. Hitting people in the head with pieces of wood…" I kept the couch that was in the middle of the room between us. He turned his head a little and pointed to a bright red bump, a linear scab running up from his eyebrow. "You know, that really didn't feel good. Not at all." He kept continuing to circle, but I still kept the sofa between the two of us. I didn't like the tone of his voice, the way he was circling. I glanced at the door to see if I could make a break for it, but he saw that and started circling back the way he came, effectively pushing me back around the other way. I swallowed. "You stole my clothes, too. Tied me up. Fuck, do you know how much head wounds bleed? I coulda died in there, no one would have known. Now, look, it's one thing to knock a man out and take his clothes, but you also took my weapon." He had stopped circling, standing with his back to the door. He had blocked my exit. "You took my weapon, and you also made a fucking fool out of me. When I ran outside to go find you and give you a piece of my mind, I was left in nothing but my skivvies. I had to go running around that rodeo stunt you pulled with no shoes and no pants in front of every person I know. Do you know how embarrassing that was for me? On top of that, everyone kept laughing at me because a _girl_ did that to me." He pointed at me. "You ruined my reputation, you know that?"

I blinked. "Look, I'm… I'm sorry, man, it's just that—"

"Just that what? What, huh?"

"You were the only one around! You were roughly my size, and you were wearing the most amount of clothing! I used it to hide. I was only doing what I needed to do to survive! You'd do the same, wouldn't you?"

"You know, if you had apologized to me earlier, I may have let you off easy. Maybe just roughed you up a bit. But no; you made me look like an ass. I can't come back from that." He narrowed his eyes and shook his head. "You think you're so mother fucking special, huh? Just because Vaas is giving you a 'special treatment'? Mm?" He spit on the ground. "Think again. He's only using you. You don't mean shit to him; you're only good for money. Money that is ours! We don't work for free! You know, I bet he's just making you like him so you'll go easy. I've seen him do it a thousand times; you bitches all go easy. It's the same every time! You get won over by his smooth talk and his fucking suaveness. Don't think that you're special, bitch, 'cuz you ain't."

My hands had balled into fists. I didn't want to believe him, though my mind said that it was probably true. My heart didn't want to believe it; in fact, it had wrenched when he said I was just being used. Then again, I had had this same exact stalemate feeling when Bay had told me Vaas was actually good; why couldn't I ever just have the truth? What the hell was the answer to this situation? Why couldn't I understand the right from the wrong? Bay and Tito were the damn angel and devil on my shoulders about Vaas. Who should I believe? Rather, who _would_ I believe?

No matter what I would choose to believe, Tito was pissing me off. He had called me a bitch and I wasn't taking lightly to it. I already didn't like this dick, and he wasn't helping his cause. If he thought he was going to come in here just to make me feel bad about myself, he was wrong. "Get the hell out of my room, Tito. I don't need this from you."

He laughed. "Yeah, like that's gunna work. Look, I believe one hundred percent in the whole 'an eye for an eye' thing. The only way to get back is to get even." He held his hands out a little. "You will get what you deserve, you little bitch!" He rushed around the couch at me.

I barred my teeth and got ready for a fight. I was the mother fucking heroine of this story; there was no way I was going to let Tito win. I could do this!

Catching me off guard, he tackled me to the ground with his shoulder, knocking the wind out of me. As I rolled over trying to catch my breath, he put a filthy boot on my side and rolled me back over onto my back.

This wasn't going how it was supposed to. I grabbed his foot and tried to toss him off me, but he leaned down, putting more pressure on me. "I told you you'd get what you deserved!"

"Get the fuck off of me!" I yelled, struggling.

My head snapped to the side and my cheek stung like no other. Blinking, I realized he had just slapped me across the face. I looked back at him.

"Shut up," he snarled, grabbing a fistful of my shirt and pulling an arm back. My eyes went wide. Shit, this really wasn't supposed to be happening. I was supposed to be winning—

Faster than I could see, his arm rushed forward and my head snapped to the side again. The side of my face exploded with pain like nothing I had ever felt before. A mixture of pain and shock that he had really just punched me sent adrenaline shooting through my system, fueling me. I struggled and rolled over, knocking his leg off me. I sent a punch straight up into his junk, and he doubled over in pain. With a shout, I kicked my leg up and knocked him over my head. I scrambled up and bolted towards the door, but Tito had recovered quicker and snaked an arm around my waist.  
He threw me back and I hit the wall, my head hitting it, dazing me a little. He threw another punch my way, but I ducked it and he grazed the concrete instead. He swung with his other hand, connecting with my nose.

I fell to the side, falling on the ground. Blood started to drip from my nose and pain shot up into my head through my sinuses. It hurt so bad that my eyesight started to go a little fuzzy.

A hand grabbed a fistful of hair and he yanked me back up. With a shout, I clamped my hands on top of his to stop the pain, to stop him from ripping out my hair. Why the hell was this happening? Why wasn't I winning?

"See, bitch? See what it feels like?" He snarled, shaking me. "You are not special, you have never been special. You're just a ripe piece of ass waiting to be sold! You don't fit in here, and you sure as hell are not one of us! An eye for an eye. Now that you've been hit just like you hit me, I'll take off _your_ fucking clothes."

Fear pierced me through like an arrow as he grabbed a handful of my shirt again and yanked at it harshly a few times before it ripped and came off. I couldn't win this battle. This was an actual fight that I had no chance of winning from the start. All at once like a great wave of defeat crashing on me, I knew I couldn't do it on my own. I couldn't win—not without some outside help.

I took in a great breath and let it out in the most blood curdling drawn out scream I could muster. Tito clamped a free hand down onto my mouth, stopping me. He shook my head again; I was sure that if he did it any harder, he'd rip my hair out. "Shut up! Shut the fuck up! You fucking bitch, you deserve this. You should have known you had this coming to you when you first looked at me. The first time you laid your filthy little eyes on me, you should have known your place."

The door slammed open. I didn't have to look to see who it was; I knew straightaway who it could be.

Tito immediately looked over but didn't let me go. I think he was too stunned. "Vass, I—"

I heard a rustle, a click, and then a terrifyingly loud bang. I felt Tito fall and he took me down with him, his hand still in my hair. With something between a crazed whimper and a cry, I untangled his hand from my hair and scrambled my way away from him. I crawled away quickly on my hands and knees, afraid he'd follow; but when I looked back at him, he was just looking at me. Eyes wide open, blood quickly pooling beneath his head, with a bright red dot on the center of his forehead.

I shrieked and leapt up, backing up, clinging to the wall. "Oh shit, you… you—you… you shot him," I stammered, not able to take my eyes off of the distant, still shocked look on his now lifeless face. Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit… there was a dead guy in my room. In my room. Bleeding all over my floor, intense red liquid running down the slight incline of the concrete, pooling once more at a lower elevation…

My eyesight started to go fuzzy again. This kind of fucked up stuff only happened in movies. Something about it actually happening in life, knowing it wasn't special effects, made me weak at the knees. I shook once and then fell down, unable to hold myself any longer.

"Gah, damn it," swore Vaas, coming over to me. He put his pistol away and then reached down and pulled me up. "Are you okay?"

I blinked. "You shot him…"

He shrugged. "Yeah, yeah I did. I told you he wasn't the brightest crayon in the box. He would have hurt you worse if I hadn't done that. You okay?"

All these images kept flying past my eyes and I couldn't make sense of it. Tears rimmed my eyes, and I couldn't help it; for the first time since coming here, I broke down and started to cry. I felt so useless and weak and powerless, so alone and afraid and in pain.

Vaas had wrapped his arms around me, still holding me up. I hid my face, burying it in his shirt, sobbing. Letting out all the emotions I had built up over the past few days. All of the hurt, the loneliness, the ache that I had built up—I let it all out. I let it just flow out of me from my eyes and my sore face. I wrapped my arms around him and gripped him tight without noticing, thinking that if I gripped tighter, it would shelter me from any more pain that could bombard me while I was down. That it would keep me safe. I had just had enough of it, and the death of Tito broke me.

And you know, Vaas didn't say a thing. He just stood there, holding me, letting me cry all over his shirt. He didn't push me away, didn't tell me I was being a child… he just stood there and took it.

I sniffed and took in a last shaky breath before letting it out. I was done crying; I had used up all my tears, and I honestly felt a little better about everything after it. Just the feeling of a nice, warm chest to have my head against and strong arms around me while I cried made it all better.

He let out a heavy sigh when he noticed I was done crying and instead was just standing there silently, holding him. "Better now?"

I nodded. "Yeah," I said, letting him go. "Sorry. Or… thanks. Or something."

He pulled away and brought his hands to my shoulders, holding me at arm's length. He leaned down and looked my face over before sighing again. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up." He let me go and stripped off his shirt, surprising me. He held it out. "Put this on."

I couldn't help but stare and blink at him. Of course him taking his shirt off was the only thing that could so entirely bring me out of my swell of emotions. I just couldn't help but let my eyes slide all over his tan muscular body. I really liked the way his necklace hung down, just urging you to look lower. He shook his shirt a little, bringing me out of my thoughts. I looked down at myself. I was just in my bra. Suddenly extremely self-conscious, I snatched it out of his hand and put it on hurriedly. It was too big, but at least the guys wouldn't be able to gawk and jeer and make wolf whistles at me. There was blood all down the front of it from my nose and crying, but at least it covered me.

I crossed my arms over my chest and kept my head down a little. He put an arm around my shoulders and pulled me slowly from my room. I just let him take me. I didn't care where we went; I just really enjoyed the warmth that he was giving me from his arm and his side against mine. I was just thankful that he had saved me. I was vaguely aware of the eyes of his men glued to us as he walked me into his office. I was really glad for his shirt then. He closed the door and walked me over to his desk. He cleared off a spot for me. "Here, sit here and lean forward a bit. Try to get the blood in the can." As he pushed a trash can over with his foot, I hopped up on the desk and did as he asked.

After digging around in his desk, he pulled out a rather old looking first aid kit and a rag. Coming back over to me, he looked me in the eyes. It was so… odd… looking into his eyes after allowing him to see me cry. I felt more connected to him. He glanced down, gently grabbed my hand, and then looked back up. He brought my hand to my face and put my thumb and index finger at the bridge of my nose, showing me what to do without using words. He put the rag in my other hand and let go of me.

I pinched and held the rag to my face, still leaning forward a little, watching him. We both just stayed there like that for a bit, watching each other, before he turned and went to a sink. He grabbed a bottle of something and another rag. He poured the stuff on the rag and came back to me. He dabbed a little at my eyebrow; not a second after the smell of alcohol hit me, a burning pain shot through the cut. "Ow!"

"Shh."

I shot him a look, but then allowed him to dab the blood away from my cut. I sighed inwardly as the pain slowly subsided to a dull throb. I just sat there quietly, letting my nose bleed itself out, letting Vaas tend to my wound.

I couldn't believe that I let Tito beat me up. Me, of all people… he was just an underling. I could have taken him on, and yet… maybe it was just because my drive was missing. The first time I beat him up, I had a strict goal: to get away. This time he just snuck up on me. I didn't really have a drive. Well I mean, other than to keep safe, of course, but nothing as cut and dry as escape.

Still, I couldn't believe that Vaas just… just pulled out a gun and shot him. Just like that. As easily as if he were swatting a fly with a newspaper. One of his men, Tito, was dead because of… well, because of me.

He pulled away and looked me over. He clicked his tongue. "Damn, he did a number on you. Why didn't you fight back? You knocked him out last time. What happened?"

I shrugged and looked away from him. "Dunno. Snuck up on me."

He laughed and dabbed more alcohol on the rag. "For some reason I doubt that. This is you and Tito we're talking about; I don't think he could have snuck up on a tortoise. You, on the other hand, I would have expected a lot more from you. I thought you'd have set up booby traps and shit already for unsuspecting dickwads like Tito to fall into. That's why I was in there; I was looking to see what kind of stuff you had come up with."

I smiled as he dabbed my wound a little more. I liked that he overestimated me; that meant that he knew I was a main player in this game now. I had finally earned a place of respect. Took me long enough. Then again, him talking about setting up booby traps did give me some ideas…

He sighed and stepped away. "Look, I gotta go clean up that mess. Can you stay here without causing any more chaos than you already have? Or do I have to babysit you?"

I grinned. "I think I can hold down the fort."

He pointed at me. "No snooping. I mean it. I'll cut your hands off if I find out that you touched my shit."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, yeah. I won't look. I'm not much in the mood now anyways. Face is kinda busted, you know."

Grinning, he nodded and handed me the alcohol rag. He nodded his head at an opposite wall. "There's a mirror over there; I know how you women are. Though I recommend against looking. I'll be right back."

I kept my eyes glued on him as he walked to a side door and slipped through it, closing it behind him. He was only in there for a few seconds before he came back out wearing a shirt.

Honestly, I was sad that he put a shirt back on. Because damn did he look good without it. He simply gave me a coy smile before leaving the office.

I was alone again. Still pinching my nose and one rag held under it to catch stray blood, I hopped off the desk. Yeah he said no touching, but he didn't say anything about _looking_. I didn't really have enough time to get a good look around his office the first time I was in here, because I had to plant my pranks and run away.

This was actually a nice little room. A little dirty, but Vaas was a guy; guys' rooms are always messy. A map of the island hung on the wall. Various X's and lines were drawn on it, but I couldn't make heads or tails of what they meant. I decided that the door Vaas had gone in was probably his room. I mean, if he came out with a new shirt, it had to be his personal quarters. I had to suppress the strong, strong urge to open the door and go look around; after all, I had told him I wouldn't snoop. He had saved me from getting an even worse beating; the least I could do was heed his wishes.

I stopped in my tracks when something came back to mind. When we were in my room, Tito had told me that Vaas just played people. That he was using me. Just making me like him so that I would go easy…

No. I wasn't going to believe it. I wasn't going to accept that rumor as truth. I would find out the truth on my own; I wasn't going to believe it unless I found it to be true myself.

I made my way over to the mirror and looked. My shoulders slumped. Man, I looked terrible—and I had just recently taken a shower, too! Then again, after everything that happened today, I honestly should have looked worse. The area above my aching eyebrow was swollen and bruised, but at least it had stopped bleeding. I removed the rag but kept my nose pinched. Shit, it looked like I was a vampire or something. I barred my teeth at the mirror and then smiled, replacing the rag. Ouch, smiling hurt…

I sighed and walked back to the desk, leaning against it. I was starting to feel tired again, the day taking its toll on me. I was due for a good sleep.

But just how long would it take to clean up the… the mess, as Vaas had so lightly put it? My room probably looked like the aftermath of a crime scene. I let out a grunt of a laugh; my room actually _was_ a crime scene, in all truth. It would be hard to ease back into that room after knowing what had happened in there. I shuddered.

But then, I almost felt… glad that it had been Tito. I mean, what if it had been those two nasty dick heads that heckled me earlier? Or any number of the other men at this camp who had it out for me? Or even more than just one guy? I mean, I wasn't really on their nice list here. And I'm sure that stupid stunt that Vaas pulled by telling them that it was my fault they were cleaning didn't help my case. I guess I should consider myself lucky that Tito had only planned on beating me up, and that Vaas had been close enough to hear my scream.

I couldn't let it happen again. I'd have to be on my guard at all times. I couldn't let them beat me again. Of course, I couldn't let Vaas kill any more of his own men, either. Even _if_ some of them probably deserved it.

I'd be ready next time. I'd do just like Vaas had originally thought I did, and make booby traps. I'd retrieve Tito's machete from under the bed in the shitty room. I'd sleep with one eye open and watch my back.

I had already proved that I wasn't weak once. Staying strong was an ongoing process; I couldn't just stop and level out. I had to keep getting better. I had to keep one foot head of everyone else.

I had to be like Vaas.

* * *

**A/N: Ouch, poor girl... **

**What do you think about how Vaas acted? Let us know in the reviews. I'm sure everyone would love to hear!**

**See you next Friday! :)**


	8. Can Tigers Have Wings?

**A/N: Sorry this one was a little late! I ended up working, and then came home to a house without power! The universe just didn't want me to post for some reason. **

**Oh well. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter! The next few are really gunna pick up, let me tell you. **

**Oh. And you're in for a treat within the next few chapters, too. ;)**

* * *

When Vaas came back, I could tell he was upset. He had a scowl on his face, and he slammed the door closed behind him. By now, my nose had stopped bleeding, so had just been sitting patiently near the window, trying not to look into the mirror. I watched him as he stomped over to his desk and sat down gruffly.

"Uh, problem?"

"Yeah, there's a fucking problem!" He whipped around in his seat to shoot a glare my way. "We're running low on supplies. We need more."

I blinked. "This isn't about Tito?"

He scoffed and turned back to his desk, grabbing a pencil. "No, no that doesn't matter. I got some men to clean it up. But we've—fuck." He dropped the pencil to the side and grabbed another. "Some shit's been taken by—damnit!" He tossed this pencil too and grabbed a pen. "We don't have enough men to—what the fuck! Why doesn't anything _work_?" He threw the pen across the room.

I bit my lip, knowing the answer. I got off the sill and walked over to a plant in his office. I picked up the working pens and pencils I had hidden in there when I pranked him earlier and then handed them to him sheepishly. "Uh, glued the tips of your pens and pencils. These work, though."

He rolled his eyes and took the writing utensils from me. "Gettin' real tired of your shit, you know."

I smiled guiltily. "Hey, you started it."

He stopped writing. "What?"

"You kidnapped me. You started the battle between us."

"Battle? Is that what you think it is?"

"Sure feels like it."

He finally smiled and shook his head. He went back to writing. "All right then. The battle rages on, babe."

I grinned and took his manner as a dismissing. I turned to leave, but when I put my hand on the handle, Vaas spoke again.

"Oh. Look, I think that Tito may have other men against you. I don't think it's gunna be that safe in your room tonight. Or maybe the next few days. I think it would be best if you stayed in my room for the next night or so. Just to be safe."

I turned and looked at him. Did he really just tell me to spend the night in his bedroom? I could feel excitement bubbling up from deep within me. I had to try _really_ hard to hide my smile. "Really?"

He shrugged a little as if it were nothing to him. "Yeah. I'll take you under my wing for a bit. But look, I don't have any extra supplies. You need to go get your bedding and bring it in here. I ain't a maid service. And you may want to take a shower. You look terrible."

I frowned at him. "Thanks for that."

I left and closed the door behind me. Instead of going to my room, I headed straight for the shit room that I stayed in before. No guards were in the common room now, since it was nighttime and they didn't need to stand watch outside my room anymore. Pulling the door open, a stenchy gust hit me. I wrinkled my nose and covered my mouth and nose with my hand. Shit, no wonder I smelled bad before; this place really was disgusting. Already wanting to relish clean air again, I quickly zipped in and pulled the mattress up. Tito's machete was still lying where I left it, holster and all. I allowed myself a slight grin as I picked it up and hid it under my (Vaas's) shirt. I held the blade with my arm and hid the handle with my hand, just in case someone saw me with it. I didn't want them taking the only weapon I had. Leaving the room quickly, I made my way back to my new room.

It looked just the same as we had left it, but I could still feel the tension in the air. It smelled a little funny; I could tell they hadn't used bleach to clean the floor. A faint outline of the blood pool was still on the ground, but at least Tito's body was gone. And the room felt… different. Scary. As if Tito's ghost were now haunting this room, or something. It felt like there was something here that I just couldn't feel directly. I bolted across the room to the bathroom and closed the door. Letting out the breath I had held and placing the machete on the sink, I was relieved to notice that the bathroom still felt the same. No threat of Tito's ghost here.

I washed off my face, careful of my cuts and bruises. The cool water felt nice on my hot skin, so I just stripped everything off and started up the shower. I looked Vaas's shirt over; I really should wash it before I give it back to him. And especially before the blood stains the material. Killing two birds with one stone, I brought the shirt with me into the shower and gave it a good scrubbing as well.

After I had washed and felt clean and refreshed once more, I dried off and looked for clothing.

Oh. That's right. Tito ripped my only shirt that I had here. Frowning, I knew that the only clothes I had were the ones I had stolen from Tito initially. Well, he didn't need them anymore, so…

I retrieved them quickly, glad that they didn't have any smell to them since I had washed them. In the end, I decided it was a better idea to have garb that matched the rest of the men. I would fit in better, and maybe they wouldn't feel the need to heckle me if I did fit in. Hey, it was a long shot, but it was the only thing I had at the present.

Gathering my machete and Vaas's shirt, I went back into the main room. I tried to ignore the tense feeling of the room as I hid the weapon in my pillowcase. I gathered up all of the bedding and held the pillow against my chest, making sure the knife didn't slip.

I scurried back to Vaas's room, my anticipation growing by the second. He had seemed so nonplussed by the idea of letting me stay with him for a bit, which didn't make sense to me. He knew how I felt about him, so he should know that I'm practically humming with anticipation. Why did he seem like he didn't care?

If he didn't care, and I had to be more like Vaas, then did that mean that I shouldn't care either? But how could I _not_ care when he just invited me into his _room_? Or maybe he did care and he just wanted to seem professional.

I snorted. Hah, Vaas professional? My ass. Maybe I was over thinking this; but then again, when _didn't_ I overthink things?

I opened his office door and peeked in. Bayani was in there, talking with Vaas. They both turned and looked at me. The way they turned around gave me the feeling that I came in at the wrong time. "Oh, uh, sorry. I'll leave if you need me t—"

"Shit, Vaas; you weren't kidding!" exclaimed Bay. "Are you all right? You look like you got hit by a bus."

I shot him a look. "Yeah, I'm fine. Nothing a good night's sleep can't fix."

His eyes dropped to the bedding in my hands, then back up at my face. I saw it click in his head; he almost smiled, but turned it into a cough. "Well, I suppose I'll to get to bed then. Hope you feel better. Put some ice on it; it'll make the swelling go down. I'll see you tomorrow; chores to do and such."

He nodded at Vaas and then left. I could have sworn he gave me a stupid sly smile as he passed me, but maybe it was just the way the light hit his face.

I shook my head as he closed the door. I was feeling nervous again. "So, where should I put this?" I asked, indicating the sheets and blanket.

"Oh, here, follow me." He came around the desk and opened the door to his room. Excited, I followed him in. It was dark until he flipped on a light switch.

I almost dropped all the stuff I was holding. This room was actually… normal. I mean, I don't know what I had expected, but… there was carpet on the ground, and a pretty nice bed on the left wall. It smelled very faintly of cologne. There was a small window that allowed more light than it did a view. A nice bathroom was in the corner, and a big TV hung on the wall. A huge collection of—get this—movies were in a bookshelf right under the TV. Like a normal person.

It just totally struck me as odd. I mean, the rest of this place seemed so shoddy and dirty, and here was Vaas's room that practically looked like mine back home. It was really weird, honestly. It felt surreal. Like it was just a dream.

"Uh…"

He looked back at me. "What?"

I shook my head, still looking around. "Oh, er, nothing. It's just… your room. It's _nice_."

Glowering, he asked, "What, did you think I lived in a shit hole or something?"

I shrugged. I think it had offended him a little. "No, no… well, kind of, I mean—the rest of the camp's a little run down. I didn't expect…" Trailing off, I nodded at the TV and movies. "You… like movies?" It just seemed so odd for someone like Vaas to be an avid movie watcher. I kinda thought he tossed knives and wrestled bears and had arm wrestling challenges in his spare time or something. Manly pirate stuff. I don't know!

"Of course I like movies! Who doesn't?" he scoffed, crossing his arms.

I couldn't disagree with him; I loved movies too. I made my way over to them and bent down, reading the titles. I let out a breath of a laugh and shook my head again. "Forest Gump, Superbad, Pulp Fiction, Scott Pilgrim… these are all, like, _good_ movies. I just didn't really… expect that." I mean, this was a pirate camp in the middle of a jungle. It was so… out of character for such a scary concept.

"What, am I not allowed to do something fun once in a while? Cut me some slack. Shit. Look, you can make your bed up like right in front of the bookcase or something. You really should go to sleep. I'll need you to help tomorrow with gathering more supplies, so you'll need your energy." My shoulders slumped a little. I'd still have to do work even after getting beat up? "Don't give me that look! I told you that you weren't getting a special treatment. You're still a prisoner. So go to bed. I have work I still have to take care of, so I'll be in later." He turned and left, closing the door behind him.

He didn't need to tell me twice. I set up my bedding and hid the machete under the pillow. I almost forgot that I had Vaas's shirt too, so I hung it on a chair to dry. The look of my little bed looked so inviting, and I was sore all over. I turned off the light and crawled into my bed, sighing.

I couldn't believe I was in Vaas's room. I really liked it.

It didn't take me long to drift off into sleep since I was so exhausted. Though I do remember giggling to myself at the thought of sneaking into his bed with him, whenever he came back. Too bad I immediately zonked out and fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

I was awoken by a noise and then a bit of swearing. Opening my eyes, I could see the dawn's light streaming in through the window. Shit, I really had slept heavy. I hadn't woken up once during the night. I turned my head, looking for the source of the noise and then froze and closed my eyes immediately.

Vass was standing with his back to me, holding his foot. "Stupid fucking bed," he growled, rubbing a stubbed toe.

Oh. Did I mention he was entirely naked? I licked my lips and inched my eyes open, peeking at him again. Holy shit… I was totally right. He _did_ have a very nice ass. And he had a beautiful back. Oh man, and his _legs_… they were just so defined. Was he a marathon runner or something? Sure looked like it.

I was really sad to watch him pull on a pair of boxers and then his pants. Just as he turned, I shut my eyes again quickly, feigning sleep. Oh man, what if he knew I was awake? Oh shit…

He walked past me, luckily. I opened an eye again and tilted my head up to watch him. He grabbed his red tank, shook it out, and put it on. He ran a hand through his hair a bit and then turned again. I quickly tilted my head back down and shut my eyes again, hiding a smile. Ugh, he was just so fucking _hot_. I heard him walk past once more and then he left the room.

I let out the giggle I had been holding. Then I frowned a little. It seemed like he had taken all the vitality of the room with him. It felt oddly empty and boring now. I really wanted to follow him, just to be in the same room with him. I wanted to feel that energy again.

But I couldn't let him know that I just watched him get dressed. So instead of getting up, I just stayed there in my bed. Though the longer I remained there, the more I noticed how much my face ached from yesterday. I couldn't lay on my left side without my eyebrow hurting. At least my nose had cleared up, though. I touched it; it still hurt a little, but at least I could breathe through it again. I wondered if Vaas had some ibuprofen or aspirin lying about somewhere.

After I had been lying there for a while, I decided I had waited long enough and got up. I didn't think he'd mind if I used his bathroom, so I did. I also chanced looking in the mirror. I didn't look good, but then again, like I said before, I probably should have looked worse. The swelling had gone down overnight and the bruising hadn't really stuck too terribly, but the cut was still red. My nose was the worst part since it was still black and blue. I bet if I found some makeup somewhere I could cover it up with some work.

I left and made my way to Vaas's office. He was standing at his desk again, bent over a map sprawled out and held down with books. I chanced a small smile. "Morning."

He quickly looked at me over his shoulder. "Hey. Your face looks a little better today. Probably should only take a few days to clear up."

I was happy to hear that. "What're you looking at?"

"Map. There's a group of idiots out there that stole some of our supplies. Their nearest camp isn't too far from here." He motioned to a plate of fruit. "Here, eat that. Then you're off to work. I need you to go get water today. Because of those shits, and also some of _your_ doing, we need more supplies. Water is on our list, and it shouldn't be too tough a job for you. Buckets in the supply building, and the creek's to the east."

It seemed so primitive to me. "I thought you had working plumbing?"

"I never said we didn't. Water has to come from somewhere, doesn't it? We have a tank that we fill up." He looked at me again. "Take someone with you, okay?"

I rolled my eyes. "Sure."

"Take Bayani or something. I know you two are friends now, right? Go take him. I'm serious. He'll show you where to empty the buckets after you fill them."

"Fine, fine. I can do that." No, actually, I wouldn't. I wasn't afraid of this camp. I wasn't afraid of the men here. I had a weapon now. Speaking of, it was still in Vaas's room… "Uh... I'm gunna hit the bathroom first."

"Fine. Just don't slack off." He went back to looking over the map.

Grinning, I went back into his room. I grabbed the machete and hid it under my arm again like I had before. It wasn't really that I thought Vaas would take it away from me, but I didn't think he'd be happy knowing I had it. Just to add to my alibi, I went to his bathroom and flushed the toilet. Making my way back to his office, I walked with my side turned away from him so he couldn't see me hiding the weapon. It didn't matter in the end, because he didn't look up at me as I walked through anyway. I exited the building and then took in a breath of the morning air. Not many men were milling about; I wondered if they were all just waking up. I hit the supply room and found two buckets. No longer afraid if Vaas saw me with a knife, I put the strap over my chest and let the holster lay across my back, just like Tito had worn it. The handle was right at my right shoulder; it would make for an easy grab if I needed it quickly. I liked it! The new weight on my shoulder was different, but I knew that I could get used to it.

Grabbing the two buckets, I left the place. I looked up at the sun, judged east, and set off. I was a little nervous because I hadn't been out of the camp since I had come here, but it would be a nice little adventure. Besides; if this was a camp that had plumbing and a water tank they had to fill, that meant the stream would be close by. I was sure of it.

In daytime, the jungle wasn't as scary as it was in the nighttime. The temperature was just right, since the hot sun hadn't really started to scorch the place yet. It was a little buggy, but then again, it was a jungle. I don't think there's one jungle out there that doesn't have bugs. It was nice to be around nature and the leaves and trees again, too; it was a needed change from being cooped up in buildings the past few days. It just felt so nice.

In the end, I was right again; I came across the stream just minutes from camp. When Vaas had said creek, I honestly thought he meant just a tiny bubbling stream; this was probably as deep as I was tall at its deepest point. I wouldn't classify it as a little thing.

Smiling, I bent down and looked into the water. I could see little minnow-like fish swimming around near the shore, and saw shadows of bigger fish swimming in the deeper waters. It was really calming, and I found it quite enjoyable. I dipped the first bucket into the water, upsetting the tiny fish; they darted all about. I dipped the other in and pulled the two out. Just as I turned back to camp, a flash of color caught my eye.

I glanced over and froze once more.

My stomach dropped to my toes. Not even fifteen meters away was a huge bright yellow monster of a cat. A _tiger_. Its head was down at the water's edge, but its bright eyes were trained on me.

Fuck… I thought humans were terrifying. This gigantic deadly animal didn't even scrape the surface of scary.

I slowly put down the buckets, making sure not to make sudden movements, and slowly pulled out my machete.

You know, I really wished that I had listened to Vaas.

* * *

**A/N: Uh ohhh. Got a little big for her britches, methinks. **

**Thanks for reading! Next chapter up soon. :)**

**Please review/fave/whatever you would like. You rock!**


	9. Dodo

**A/N: Oops, this one was a little late.**

**But guess what? I'm on spring break now. :] I am going to try my _hardest_ to bring you two chapters this break. If I don't bring you two, then I'll bring you one long one. **

**Anyway, happy Friday! Read on, friends. ;)**

* * *

I really wished that I had listened to Vaas and brought someone with me. I bet they would have known what to do when faced with a _tiger_. The scariest things I had to deal with back home were spiders! This animal in front of me had fangs and claws, and I'm sure it wouldn't hesitate to eat me. I really didn't think that I could just call in my brother to come and squish it with a shoe or tissue box this time.

I swallowed and kept my eyes on the cat. Its tail swished a few times, eyes still on me.

I wasn't a cat person, so I had no clue what it could have been thinking. My heart rate started to quicken. What if it leapt at me? I was just a single person! I couldn't kill this thing, not even if my life depended on it. And in all honesty, that's what it was looking like right now. Life or death.

I heard a rumble deep in its chest. I swallowed and held the machete tighter in my hands. The sides of its mouth went up a little, showing its teeth, and a low growl escaped its mouth. The sound was just the beginning of a snarl, a roar. Something jumped into my head, then, about animals and eye contact. I quickly lowered my eyes to the ground, hoping that I hadn't just challenged it by staring. Oh shit, what if I just made it angry? Shit, shit, shit… I probably just condemned myself with such a stupid act.

"Help," I peeped quietly, not wanting to scare the tiger. I swallowed. "Help?" I cried a little louder. I doubted anyone could hear me, but I felt better knowing I had at least tried.

The tiger let out a snarl this time and started to come towards me, its shoulders rising and falling like waves as it padded over.

"S-stop, that's close enough!" I said, waving the knife at it. It slowed and stopped, growling lowly at me. "Good. Now, just… stay there. Don't—don't attack. I'm not gunna hurt you." Hey, if it listened when I told it to stay, maybe it would listen and not attack me? I swallowed again and kept the knife aimed at its heart.

I was getting this strange sense of déjà vu, holding the knife aimed at the predator… though I know for sure this is the first time I've seen a live tiger other than in a zoo.

Man, I was in so much trouble. It looked like this was gunna be the end of me.

Wait, no. I said I was going to be like Vaas, damn it. What would that crazy captor do in a situation like this? What would he do? What would Vaas do?

A slice of an earlier conversation with him came to mind. He had told me the key to winning was staying one step ahead. He made people do his bidding without lifting a finger. He made them trip over their own feet. That was what he did.

I'd make the tiger be its own downfall. I wouldn't have to do it; I'd make it take itself down. I would be the end of this tiger, but I wouldn't do it personally; I'd make it fall on its own.

Feeling more grimly confident, I tightened my grip. What would I do? Could I get it to drown? Hit itself on a rock? I had no idea how to trick a tiger. But I had to be like Vaas; I had to do something. Maybe I could scare it into thinking I was the bigger predator or something? Maybe I could—

"_Hey_!" shouted someone loudly, scaring both me and the giant cat. It dropped down low and let out a sharp roar at the guy running towards us. "What the hell are you doing, having a staring contest? Hey, hey! Get out of here! Hey!" shouted Bayani, waving his arms wildly.

The tiger snarled one last time and then turned on its heel and bolted back into the underbrush, the trees and bushes wavering behind it. Bay whipped out a gun and stared at the space it ran off to. "Look, this place isn't _that_ bad, but if you hate it enough to go picking fights with tigers, maybe I am wrong. Fuck, what the hell is wrong with you? Why didn't you tell me you were getting water?" He put his gun away. "This is a _jungle_. Haven't you figured that out by now? It's not fucking safe! That's like the fifth time this week we've seen that one alone around here. Must have decided this is his new territory. They do that, you know. Patrol their land. Like little guards."

As happy as I was to see Bay and to have him scare the tiger away for me, part of me felt a little cheated. That was my chance to shine, to be like Vaas. And I blew it. I let my shoulders slump a little. "Thank you," I still said, though. I mean, he had just saved my life. I was afraid that I was going to die; he literally saved me. "That—I just didn't know what to do… I thought I could do it."

"Yeah, well…"He shook his head and sighed, coming over to me. "Look, you aren't even holding it right." He took the knife out of my hands and held it the correct way. "You were holding it backwards. And when you use it, you slice so the knife goes away from your body. Keep your machete arm towards the object." He handed it back to me. "If you're going to come out here, you should at least know how to do it right. Shit."

I frowned. "I know…"

"You could have gotten yourself killed! Where would we be then, huh? What lot of good that would have been?"

My frown deepened. "Yeah."

"Look, I woulda been out of a friend, you know? And money. Money would have been lost," he said, taking note of my sour mood, trying to lighten it up a little. I still wore the scowl. Rolling his eyes, he took out his own machete. "Here, let me teach you the basics. That way you won't be caught with your pants down and your dick out next time, all right?"

That finally garnered a little bit of a smile from me. "Okay, tough guy; you're on. Show me how to use this thing."

After all, wouldn't Vaas have wanted to know how to use what he had to his advantage?

* * *

I learned a lot of useful stuff from Bay. He told me that the kind of machete I had taken from Tito was called a bolo machete, and that the long blade was used for cutting underbrush and other kinds of trees. He of course told me the general things, like how to clean it and keep it sharp, and told me to make a better strap once I got back to camp. This one was old, apparently.

I was surprised that he hadn't said anything about me taking it from Tito and stashing it. In fact, he never even asked me how I got it. Maybe… maybe he had just expected it from me, overestimating me, just like Vaas had as well. This thought brought a huge grin to my face. I was finally getting the respect I deserved from them. It felt good to be on the same playing field as the big kids.

He taught me the basics, too, like how to swing it and what it was good for. He told me that the kind that he held was called a kukri knife, and that it was better for stabbing and close combat work. He also jokingly said it was good for threatening his girlfriend to make him food, but I shot him a look and he simply grinned at me.

"So I say we head back to camp. You've taken long enough to bring back that water. _And_ you didn't come get someone to come with you."

I sighed. "I thought that I could have done it on my own. I mean, it's just water. But I know I was wrong. Sorry."

He shook his head. "It's not like Vaas was doing it to protect you or anything. It's just fucking protocol. We never come out here on our own; that's like suicide. You just don't do that; you learn it on day one, you know? He was just telling you because you hadn't been outside of the camp. Haven't you figured out by now that this place isn't like your pretty little house back home? Things are different around here. You'd be fucking tiger fodder before you knew it."

"Yeah, I get it," I snapped. I made a mistake, yes, I know. I don't need to be reminded every second of it. I just wanted to show them that I could do it on my own. I didn't need someone to hold my hand and babysit me every few minutes.

"Good. I'm glad you do. But just know that… well, that there's worse things than tigers out here. Just keep that in mind," he said ominously as he looked around.

I felt a prick on my neck and slapped at the unlucky mosquito. "Yeah, like these damn bugs. That was like the eightieth one that's tried to make a meal out of me."

"You get used to it. Sometimes it isn't all that bad." He slapped a hand to his shoulder. "Though they are pretty damn—"

Just as he was saying it, another one jabbed me painfully. "Stupid things!" I went to slap at it again, but was met by something different than bug and skin. "What…" I winced and pulled whatever the heck it was off of my skin. I was surprised to see a little pin in my hand with a bright red tip. "What the…"

"Oh no." I looked up to see Bay holding a similar one. "We run. We run, now." But just as he said it, I felt another small stab on my leg. By his stance, another had hit him, too.

I looked up at him with wide eyes. "Someone's… someone's…" The outline of him started to go fuzzy and blobby. The world started to shift under my feet.

"Shooting at us," he finished, rocking on his feet, too. "Run!"

The two of us started to sprint off towards the camp, but I didn't get more than a few meters before my legs gave out like an exhausted runner's legs. I fell to the ground, but forced myself up, adrenaline pumping through my veins, urging me on. Bay grabbed my arm and tugged me up, but the act caused him to fall, too. "If we don't get back to camp, we're… in a load of… of shit?" he said, almost turning it into a question for some reason.

I remember it didn't make sense to me. It was like all other tasks were slowly being shut off one by one in my mind. Like switches. My thought processes went from getting Bay up on his feet, to getting back to camp, to getting back to running, to just running _somewhere_.

The ground rushed up at me. It felt immensely smaller and rounder, as if I were sitting on the top of it. My vision fish-eyed and it felt like I could see all of the sky and the trees and the ground in just one view. My head rolled to look at Bay, and I could have sworn that he was starting to morph and change size and change color. "Why are you doing that?" I asked, but I don't think those were the words that came from my mouth. It was definitely something much more round sounding.

I remember that the last thing that I coherently gripped onto was a pair of tattooed arms reaching for me and pulling me up. After that it was all a blur of greens, browns, blues, oranges, reds, yellows, and every other color of the visible spectrum and then some. I was spinning and rocking and going every which way. I was on an ocean. A brown and green ocean, up and down, up and down. I just wanted it all to stop.

I let my eyes close, but that was a bad idea. I couldn't open them again; millions of sounds flew through my system, and I was somewhat sure that I had passed out, though I think I could still feel. Maybe I was dreaming. Though I could hear things, but I didn't know what I was hearing. I could see things flashing before my eyes, but I had no clue what they were. Images, faces, things, people, animals, shapes, colors. Sounds—I was pretty sure I saw sounds, too. I didn't just hear them; I _saw_ them. Rushing in and out of my mind like people dancing, twirling, spinning. Just like my head.

When I finally came to, I noticed that I was lying on the ground. I was on the ground? Had I even moved at all? But I could have sworn I was on an ocean, dipping and heaving.

My eyes slowly opened. I was in some sort of… hut. Testing my arms and legs to make sure they were still there, I noticed I was tied up. _Again_. Great. I sighed angrily.

The sound made something move next to me. I saw a pair of bright eyes look up at me. I let out a relieved sigh; it was Bayani. He was tied up and lying on the ground too. "Are you all right?" he asked quietly, no more than a whisper.

I moved all my limbs again. "Yeah… yeah, I think so. They… took my machete. Bay, what… what the hell—?"

"Blow darts. Mother fucking, goddam, son of a bitch blow darts. I think it's too sneaky for their style. Look, they're gunna try to get information out of you. No matter what, don't say anything. Okay? Our lives depend on it."

My eyes went wide. This felt scarier than the first time I had been tied up. "What do you mean? What's happening? Who is out there?" I asked breathlessly.

"Rakyat," he spat, as if it were a terrible taste in his mouth. He tilted his head back down. "Our enemies. Didn't you see the tattoos on their arms?"

You know, I think I did. "I couldn't tell if that was just… a drug-induced thought or it actually happened. Are they bad?"

He laughed. "Bad? Please. They're nothing but a group of winey-ass bitches. They've only got a small following. We're the big dogs on this island; I just can't believe they caught us. See? This is what would have happened to you if I hadn't saved you. You would have been caught with your pants down."

"I don't think we should be joking about this right now, Bay," I grumbled. "That was some serious stuff they shot at us. They really didn't want us to get away. What do we do?"

He tilted his head to look at me again and grinned. "We do what we do best; we fight."

"I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm not the best fighter…"

"Ah, but you do have some good escape skills under your belt. And lucky for you, so do I. I always keep a spare knife hidden in my pants. Right… here." He moved around so he could dig for the knife. He patted himself down the best he could, and then frowned. "Damn it, are you kidding me? How did they find it?" He patted a little bit longer and then signed angrily. "They must have someone new on their side, now. Someone who knows what they're doing. I haven't told anyone about that secret knife I kept on me. Had it just for these situations, you know? Came in handy a few times, too."

"Not to interrupt or anything, but we should really be thinking about how to get out of this mess." I thought for a moment. "What about… Vaas? Will he come looking for us?"

He snorted. "You've really got yourself set on that bastard. We're just a couple of cronies; he won't come looking for us. We're dispensable. No, he'll never come looking for us."

That hit me a little off guard. Frowning, I said, "I thought you said that he was a good guy?"

"I didn't mean that he'll skip about and place daisies on everyone's heads! He doesn't give out hugs and rainbows. He's a fuckin' leader of our camp! It's not like he's gunna keep tabs on every single one of us. He has enough on his plate already. Ever wonder why he trusts you so much? Because he thought you were old enough to hold your own! We're all fuckin' adults now, you know? Damn."

"Say what you mean next time!" I snapped. "People listen to you and base their thoughts off of what you say. If you say Vaas is nice, then I'm going to believe that he's nice. What if I was in a life or death situation, and I based my choice off of what you said to me, huh?"

"Woah, woah! Why so much hostility?" he growled, looking at me. "I only said he wasn't a bad dude. I trust him with my life, because he trusts me to look out for my own life. I don't depend on him; I _look up_ to him. There's a goddam difference. And why the hell are you getting mad at me? I _saved_ your life. No need for anger."

I sighed. "Okay fine. Whatever. Maybe you're right. I'm just… I don't know. I'm scared. I'm scared, okay?"

"You've acted so fearlessly so far. What's changed you?"

"I don't know. This just feels so much more dangerous than before."

"Trust me. They aren't the ones you need to be afraid of," he muttered. "See, I told you that we were the main dogs on this island. That's true. But it's only true about just_ this_ island. There's another great landmass south of us. The people there? _Those_ are the ones you should be afraid of. These guys? They're just the locals. They follow this bitch of a leader. But the men on the south island? They make us pirates look like fucking saints. So, now, you've been here for a while, listening to us talk and whatnot. Tell me… does the name Hoyt Volker mean anything to you?"

Hoyt… Volker? It struck something in me, but I couldn't place it. The name sounded familiar, so I must have heard it somewhere before. "I… I don't know. It kind of sounds familiar to me."

He smiled grimly. "Yeah, well, you should know then. That man is evil. He's a nasty, frightening dude. And the worst part is, he's Vaas's—"

I never found out what he was about to say, because the door to the hut suddenly opened and light came streaming in, blinding us. We looked up just in time to see three men walk in, two of them with guns.

"So, you two are finally awake," said the one who came in first. "Are you comfy?"

"Don't say anything," whispered Bayani. I swallowed and nodded.

"Shut up, pirate scum!" spat the man, advancing on us. He kicked Bay, who winced in pain. My eyes widened. Shit, I had just gotten done with being beat up; now I had to get beat up again. Great. "There. That'll teach you to whisper again. Now, I asked you a question; are you comfy?"

"Yeah, just peachy," snarled Bay.

"See, that wasn't so hard," said the man, straightening back up. His eyes fell on me, and then he raised his eyebrow. "A woman? Since when did Vaas take on women henchmen?" He turned around. "You didn't tell me there was a girl."

One of the guys shrugged. "She was wearing a hat earlier. I didn't know either."

He looked back at me. "Hmm." Bending down, he peered at me. I shied away from him. "How did you get that black eye?"

I glanced at Bay. He told me not to say anything. He shook his head just the slightest and I looked back up at the guy. I didn't say anything.

His eyes narrowed. "All right, fine. You don't want to talk? We'll _make_ you talk then. Tell me. Where's Vaas? Where is your camp? Where have you been staying, huh?"

But they were so close to the camp… How did they not notice it? Why did he want to know where Vaas was? I know Bay told me to not say anything, but… "Why do you want to know?"

Bay immediately looked at me, and the man smiled a little. "Because I need to pay Vaas a little visit. He has something of mine. I want it back. So… where is he?"

I wasn't going to tell him. It wasn't because Bay had told me not to. No, it wasn't. It was because I didn't want to give away Vaas's location. I'm sure he could take these guys on, but… but I didn't want to be the one to instigate it. I think I was actually… starting to care for Vaas. It kind of freaked me out, since he still was a crazy captor, but he had watched out for me. He saved me from Tito. And if he had saved me from Tito, then I would save him from these men.

I held my chin up higher and stared straight into this man's eyes. I wouldn't tell him where Vaas was. Never. Not in a million years.

He saw the look in my eyes and frowned. He could see the resolve right down to my very soul. He knew I would never tell him a thing. It gave me a smug satisfaction that I am very proud to say that I barely even showed. His eyes fell to Bay. "Grab the man. We'll take him for questioning. Leave the girl and leave someone outside so she doesn't get away."

One of the men with the guns came and roughly pulled Bay up. "Don't hurt him!" I shouted, but they paid literally no attention to me.

"Hold strong!" muttered Bay as they pulled him away.

Damn it, I was supposed to be like Vaas! I was supposed to be fearless, a step ahead of everyone! They were supposed to look up to me! I was supposed to surprise everyone with everything I did!

They dragged him from the hut and shut the door before I even had a chance to try and wiggle my way out of this situation.

Okay, _now_ I was fucked. If I thought that situation was bad when I was with Vaas, then I was terribly mistaken. If I thought the problem with the tiger was bad, then I was also incredibly wrong.

This was my new problem, and I had to deal with it. This is what I was faced with now.

And damn it, I had to fuckin' save my friend, Bay.

* * *

**A/N: It looks like it all really comes down to perspective when you decide who to trust.**

**Have an awesome weekend! I'll see you soon. ;)**


	10. Caged Bird

**A/N: Okay, so, I actually had a tough time getting myself to write this week. I think being on break has made me lazy instead of even more productive. So I'm sorry, but this is just a normal-length one. :c**

**BUT. Here it is anyway. :] I almost didn't even finish it in time for my friday deadline.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

I did give these Rakyat guys one thing; they were more attentive when it came to hostages. Every five minutes it seemed some guy would check on me. They kept the door of the hut open, too; I could see them all sitting out there around a small fire.

The smell of their cooking made my stomach rumble. I hadn't eaten anything yet today. I was also upset that I was freakin' captured. Again. Upset and hungry were not a good pair.

I really hated the fact that they kept that dang door open. I couldn't do anything without them seeing. Every time I shifted to move my sore muscles, someone would look at me. It was getting annoying. I couldn't do anything. I hadn't felt this helpless in a really, really long time. I mean, even with Tito, I felt like I had a chance to get away and fight him back. But here… Bay had said they were just a bunch of sissies. I felt like I should have the right to be better than them. And yet…

I sighed. Feeling sorry for myself wasn't going to get me anywhere. But unfortunately for me, it looked like that was the only thing I could do for the time being. I had already looked around the hut, but it was devoid of any kind of useful item. I couldn't use this place to my advantage. For now, my only option was to sit and wait.

* * *

It turns out that sitting and waiting is a really tough concept for me. I kept tossing and turning all day, trying to entertain myself and keep myself busy. I was still really hungry and tired, and my face still hurt from Tito. I was also getting annoyed because of these stupid new captors.

Throughout the day while they had Bay in their little clutches, I watched the sun move and set. They still hadn't brought Bayani back. I questioned if Vaas wondered where we were. I questioned if _anyone_ wondered where we were.

I tried to stay up as long as I could to wait for Bay, but sleep took me at some point while the sun was down. I was exhausted from my fight and the drugs they had shot into my system, and I was still hungry. That stupid hunger gnawed at me, but I knew if I slept, I would stop it; at least for a little while.

I woke up not of my own accord. I was shocked awake as the guys bustled their way into the hut. They were dragging Bayani with them. I quickly wiggled out of the way when they came near and dropped him on the ground. He looked terrible. The men quickly walked back out, but one hung back a little. It was the guy that had tried to get me to talk earlier. "You two have a little chat while we talk things over. I'll be back for you," he said, turning and leaving.

Then, we were alone again. I moved over to Bayani and looked him over. "Are you all right?"

He coughed. He had dried blood on the side of his mouth, and the whole side of his face was bruised. "I'm alive, so I suppose I'm all right. Though I think one of my ribs is broken…" He groaned and rolled onto his side. "I didn't tell them anything. They still don't know where our camp is."

"Bay, I'm glad they didn't kill you. Do you… oh man, Bay… what the hell do we do?" I whispered.

"We have to get out of here, or else we're dead," he grumbled. "I may have underestimated these guys. I think they have someone new on their side; they seem a lot more alert and knowledgeable. Which, honestly, sucks for us."

I snorted. "Yeah, I know that much. But what do we do? You have to have some sort of idea?"

He just looked at me. "Are you serious? I was just _tortured_ for information. They beat me up in hopes of me giving them our camp's location. You're the one that was sitting on your ass all day. Why are you asking me?"

Frowning, I said, "Yeah, but I didn't know what to do! They watched me all day. I couldn't even sneeze without them looking at me."

"I thought you were the queen of escaping!"

"Yeah, well, you guys never posted a single guard at my door," I snapped. "If they weren't out there, then I definitely could have gotten away. Bay, what the hell are we gunna do?"

"Damn it, I just said I have no clue!" he snarled. "Stop fucking asking me and think for yourself!"

I took in a breath and let it out. Maybe he was right. "Okay. Fine. Let's stop fighting and pull our heads together. What… what does it look like out there? How many people are here? Let's look over what we have in front of us. What can we do?"

"I counted fifteen. I may be able to take on three at a time, but with a broken rib, I may only be able to do one-on-one. I don't think you could even fight half a guy at a time." I held back my comment and instead shot him a look. I debated whether it was a good thing or not that they didn't punch the sarcasm out of him. "Other than that, this camp is half the size of ours. They've got one main building and a few huts around it. There's a car to the west. We could try to make our way to that."

"It's daytime, though; there's no way we could make it to the car without the cover of darkness."

"Well, I don't think we can just sit around till the sun sets," he said snidely.

I swear, if I had to shoot one more look at him, I'd escape on my own and leave him here. "Well, it's the only thing we have at the moment. What else could we do?"

The door to the hut opened again. All my anger that I had just cultivated dissolved immediately and was instead replaced with a white hot fear. I looked at Bay with wide eyes.

"Don't say anything! Promise me. You can't!" he whispered urgently.

"I—"

"All right princess, your turn. Your friend here didn't want to play with us, so maybe you will."

I looked at Bay again as they came for me. "I won't." The roughly hauled me up and one man threw me over his shoulder. I kicked and screamed and tried to get away, but he held me fast. I screamed as loud as I could, hoping someone would hear me.

I felt a slap across my face. "Shut up! Now isn't the time for that!" snapped one man.

Holy shit, he slapped me right on the bruise. My eyes watered with the pain that was shooting through my face.

When we exited the hut, I glanced around quickly. It was just like Bay had said: about four or five small huts, a campfire, and one main building, which we were headed right for.

I didn't let out another scream, but I still continued to struggle. I even rolled off of the guy's shoulder just as we reached the entrance and fell onto the ground, but they hauled me upright again and two of them held my arms and carried me.

One of the men shut the door behind us as the two dropped me forcefully in a chair in the middle of the room. I could see a few spattered bloodstains on the ground; I wondered how many of them were Bay's. I swallowed. There were three of them and one of me, and I was still tied up. One moved to stand in front of the door while another watched me, and the main guy stared at me as well. Now that I was upright, I could see them all better.

All of them wore these strange tribal tattoos up and down their arms, and all three of them had guns. The main guy wore a dark blue headband. He came a little bit closer to me, arms crossed.

"So," he said, watching me. "Who are you?"

I swallowed again and shook my head in the slightest.

"You're one of Vaas's?"

I shook my head again.

"You're not? You're not a pirate? Answer me."

Bay only told me to not give away the location of the camp… "No. I'm… I'm not."

"She's lying!" hissed the man standing next to me. "She wears their clothes!"

"It's because I got in a fight back at camp," I explained, glancing at him. He had terrifyingly dark eyes, like a shark's. "I didn't have anything else to wear."

"Bullshit," he scoffed. "That's complete and utter—"

"If you aren't one of the pirates, then what are you doing with them?" interrupted Headband.

"I… they… I was kidnapped," I murmured. I wondered why I was talking to them like this, but then I noticed that I was afraid. I was afraid of them and what they'd do to me. I didn't want to come out like how Bay had. I wanted to leave with my bones intact…

"You… you are their prisoner?" asked Headband, glancing at Shark Eyes. "So you escaped? You… got out of Vaas's camp?"

"Well… uh… no, not really. Well I mean, yes, but…" I trailed off. I had to keep myself in check to make sure I didn't cross over any boundaries that I shouldn't.

"How _did_ you get that black eye?" asked Headband again, peering closer.

I leaned away a little. "A fight. One of the pirates beat me up."

He narrowed his eyes at me. "Interesting. So, they beat you up and you escaped."

I nodded.

"Why was that pirate with you if you had escaped?"

Silence.

Shark Eyes slapped me again and I glared out of watery eyes at him. "Answer!"

"Had he just recaptured you?" asked Headband. "Is he dangerous? Or is he your friend? An accomplice? Where is the rest of the scum hiding?"

I just stared at him. I was going to stay true to Bay for as long as I could. I wouldn't give away Vaas's location. I would talk about me, but damn it, I would not talk about them.

His eyebrow rose. "Still won't talk? I thought you told me that you weren't one of them." He started to circle around me slowly. The hairs rose on the back of my neck. "If you aren't a pirate, then why not tell us where their camp is? We can get back at them. You see, we're only trying to help. If you're their prisoner, you should know the conditions they keep their victims in. You should know that they kidnap people for ransom. You'd want to get as far away from that as you could. Right?" He had come around full circle now and was staring down at me. I kept my head bent a little, but kept my eyes on him. I still didn't say a thing.

He sighed and dropped down to a squat in front of me. "Look. He's got my friend. I just want her back. Let me know where his camp is so I can go and get her back. That's all I want."

It did seem legitimate… Vaas _was_ a kidnapper. They _did_ steal people. I'm sure the locals were easy prey for the pirates of Vaas's camp… I frowned. "If… if I tell you where they're at, do you… would you… promise not to hurt Vaas?"

He blinked and leaned closer. "Hurt him? Sweetheart, I want to kill that mother fucker. I want to rip his heart out for what he's done to my people. Why do you want his immunity?"

"I told you she was one of them," snarled Shark Eyes. "She wouldn't be protecting him otherwise!" He shoved me and I flew off the chair, landing hard on my shoulder. I gritted my teeth, but didn't cry out.

Headband simply sighed. He tilted his head to look at me. "You know he's right, sweetheart. There's no reason for you to be protecting him." He looked me up and down silently for a moment. "You really don't look like the pirate type. You _aren't_ one of them, are you? Tell us where he's at, and we'll guarantee your protection from them. In fact, I bet we could even help you find your way back to where they took you from. Home sounds nice, doesn't it?"

Home. I blinked. I honestly hadn't thought much of home for some strange reason. I mean, I _was_ a prisoner; why wasn't home my main priority?

"See? You remember your home, don't you?" asked Headband sweetly, seeing the look in my eyes. "I'm sure you have a mama and papa to get back to, right? I bet they're worried sick about you. And don't you miss them? Your home, your room? Your own bed?"

I frowned. Yeah… yeah, I did miss them. The same thing that I kept telling myself over and over popped up once more: I was not on vacation. I was a prisoner. Why hadn't I thought about home? I was kidnapped. What's wrong with me?

There was a knock on the door, and everyone turned to look at it. The man in front of the door opened it.

A man stuck his head in. "Hey, I heard that you…" he trailed off as his eyes fell upon me.

I blinked and tilted my head to see him a little better. This guy didn't have an accent. In fact, he sounded like me. He wasn't one of the Rakyat… was he? He certainly didn't have the dark, tanned skin of them. He must have only been a few years older than me. He had messy dark brown hair and some serious stubble going on. Back in my country, he'd be one of the popular, rich, attractive types. He honestly was pretty good looking, too. I was just so surprised to see someone like me all the way out here.

This new guy looked back and forth between me and Headband. "Who is this?"

"Don't know. We think she escaped Vaas's camp. Or she could be a pirate, too. We're trying to get it out of her."

His eyes rested on me for a little longer. I just stared at him with as much shock on my own face. "Well…" He looked back at Headband. "I'm headed out to look again. Tell Dennis to call me if anything new pops up or you find his camp. And, uh… there's something else."

Headband stood up. "What?"

Rich guy glanced at me and then nodded over his shoulder. Headband walked over to him and they talked in hushed tones, much too quiet for me to hear. I wondered if they could even hear each other speaking. The new guy barely showed emotion with whatever he was saying, but Headband kept shaking his head.

"Okay," new guy said a little bit louder this time. "Just let me know." He turned to leave.

"Oh, Jason," said Headband once more. The new guy—Jason—stopped. "Thank you for saving my daughter. After the pirates attacked, I didn't get to say thank you."

Jason smiled. "Don't mention it." He took one last look at me and then left. The man in front of the door closed it behind him.

Headband still had his back turned. He looked at the man guarding the door and then back at Shark Eyes and me. "I'll be right back. Don't touch her for a moment, okay?"

"What are you doing?" asked Shark Eyes.

"I'm going to go talk to her friend. I have a few more questions for him. Just stay here."

"Don't hurt him," I called after him as he left the building.

Snake Eyes let out a low chuckle. "Hurt him? Dearie, we barely got started. He deserves everything that is coming to him. He's filthy pirate scum. And I am honestly thinking that you are too." He narrowed his eyes and peered down at me. "You may have the chief fooled, but not me. You ain't a civilian. You'd be crying and telling us where they're at by now. You wouldn't be keeping his location a secret. You also wouldn't be wearing their clothes or befriending that pirate. You shouldn't be as clean as you are. Prisoners don't get showers." He shook his head and moved so he could lean against the wall. "Yeah, you aren't fooling me."

Yeah, well, whatever. Believe me or don't believe me, I don't care. I squirmed and pushed my way back into a sitting position.

I ended up having to sit there only for like ten minutes or so. Every time I looked over at Shark Eyes, his creepy dark eyes were always fixed in a squint on me. That dude really didn't like me. But that was fine, because frankly, I didn't like him. The guy at the door was silent, but he was still holding a gun. Both of the men, both of them held AK's. If I tried to make a break for it, they'd stop me for sure.

I sighed angrily, wishing there was a fan in here. It was a hot, humid room. I was also still hungry and annoyed that I was captured again. My wrists were starting to chafe from the bonds.

And who was that guy? Jason, Headband had called him. He definitely wasn't Rakyat. He had light skin and didn't seem like the type of person to roll with these guys. And as much as I wanted not to say it, he was a pretty good looking guy.

I shook my head. Vaas was still better looking. By far.

Just then, the door opened and Headband came back in. He was rubbing his knuckles. "Well, your friend still didn't have much to say. Wouldn't tell me who you are. I think that's a little bit weird considering you are a prisoner. What reason would he have to keep who you are a secret?"

I moved my shoulders in a tiny shrug. "Maybe he just doesn't want to get beat up again."

"If he didn't want to, he'd tell us what we wanna know," he said, coming closer. He squatted in front of me again. "Look, I'm getting impatient. Are you one of them or not? Your life depends on this."

I glanced from him to Shark Eyes (who was eyeing me greedily) and back to him again. Bay hadn't said anything, and he told me not to… so I still stayed silent. I didn't really know how much more I could hold my tongue.

"Look, girl, you should really—"

Gunfire. I immediately cringed back as the three men leapt up to action. Men yelling outside, more gunfire. Lots of shouting. Tire wheels squealing. I quickly moved and hid behind the only cover in the room: the chair.

The man at the door opened it and looked outside. "What the… what the hell? It's—boss, it's them! They're here!"

The quick tat-tat-tat of AK's filled the air, and people were screaming and shouting. Shark Eyes ran out of the room, yelling a battle cry.

The gunfire and noise raged on for a few minutes, but it died down as we waited.

I heard someone laughing outside. It was a crazy, insane laugh that chilled me down to my bone. But once that chill reached my heart, I realized that I knew the person who was laughing. It made my stomach drop.

"Hey fuckers!" I heard Vaas shout. "I think you have something of mine. I am here to take it back. If I don't see my property by the count of ten, my men will gun down all the fucking rest of you and I will _take_ what is mine. All right? You hear me?"

The door guy turned around. "Is he talking about that pirate guy? Or does he mean..."

Headband slowly turned to look at me. I don't know if he decided that I was a pirate or an innocent, but he did know one thing. He knew that I was important. He knew I was a main piece in this chess game. That I was a main player. He knew.

And you know what? Right at that point, so did I.

* * *

**A/N: If I stick to my story notes, the next chapter is gunna be the one you were waiting for.**

**_You_ know what mean. ;)**

**Have a good weekend!**


	11. Swan

**A/N: Hey all! :] Hope your weekend's going great so far.**

**So, I wanted to take a moment to thank you guys. I was looking over the Far Cry tag on here, and as of right now, this story has the most amount of reviews out of all of them on FanFiction. It's close, but The Tiger and the Bird has the most reviews on the Far Cry tag as we speak. **

**Honestly, that is one of the coolest fuckin' things I've ever been privy to. And it's all thanks to you guys! So here's a huge thanks that's reserved just for you! Thank you to all the dedicated readers who have been reviewing each chapter, and welcome to all the newbies who have jumped on board the "Vaas is smokin'" train, as well. ;) **

**That being said, let's keep it up! I'm fighting to make this story the the highest-reviewed and most amount of faves/follows on the Far Cry tag. It won't take much, which is absolutely amazing. **

**I couldn't have gotten here without you. :)**

**That being said... don't say you haven't been waiting for the good stuff. You know what I mean. I said it right in my description. ;)**

**Okay. Thank you again, and I hope you all enjoy this chapter! See you next weekend!**

* * *

I swallowed. No one had moved since Vaas shouted out his threat. The look that Headband was giving me was scaring me, because I knew that he was going to use me to get what he wanted.

"Ten," started Vaas on his countdown outside. "Nine." Headband still stared at me, but then I saw his face contort in anger. He no longer believed I was a prisoner. I was a pirate. I was a no good piece of bandit scum. "Eight. Come on, you really don't all want to die, right? I'm giving you an out over here!"

Before I could react, Headband grabbed me by the collar and hauled me upright. I tried to yank away from him, but he paid no attention as he dragged me closer to the exit.

"Seven!"

The man at the door glared at me as he opened the door for Headband and I.

"Six!"

The only welcome thing about this scene was the breeze. That room we were just in was so stuffy and hot that it was suffocating. But like I said, it was honestly the only thing that was good about this sight.

"Fi—ah, I see you have come to your senses!" laughed Vaas. He was holding his pistol in one hand, arms crossed across his chest. A small convoy of cars was behind him, with a sizeable group of men milling about the Rakyat camp. Dead bodies lay strewn about, the aftermath of the carnage from before. I swallowed and tried to keep the bile from rising in my throat at the sight of so much blood and gore.

For the very first time since I had met him, I wasn't sure if I was happy or not to see Vaas. I was glad that he had come to save us, but that laugh he had let out earlier… my stomach still hadn't returned from the drop it made when I heard that terrifying cackle.

I saw Bayani walking out of one of the huts, massaging and rolling his shoulder, arms now untied. He rolled his neck and then froze when he saw me being dragged by Headband. I saw him make a move towards me, but one of the pirates put a hand on his shoulder.

Headband stopped walking and held my shirt tight. "Is this the one you're looking for?" he asked, shaking me a little.

"Why, surprise surprise. Hello there darlin'," said Vaas to me, aiming his gun at Headband.

Before I could even take a breath, I found myself in an even tighter grip with a blade at my throat. I struggled back but was only met by Headband's strong chest. The blade dug in a little, but luckily still hadn't broken the skin. He was using me as a human shield.

Suddenly finding myself looking down the barrel of Vaas's pistol, I was scared again. It took me back to the first day when I had threatened him with a knife, and when he ordered me to sit with him. What terrified me even more was that he didn't even point the gun away. It was still aimed right at me.

"Vaas, you can have what you want when I can get _I_ want. You have my friend, and I want her back!" snarled Headband.

Vass smiled. "Friend? What friend? Refresh my memory; what's her name?"

"Analyn! You mother fucker, where is she?"

"Analyn… _Analyn_," mused Vaas, rolling it over his tongue. "You know, something's coming back to me now. I do remember her."

"What the hell did you do to her?" asked Headband grimly. "Where is she?"

He shrugged. "You know, I don't really know. I really don't."

Headband gripped me tighter and held the knife closer, making me cough. "Really, you don't? Then I suppose you won't mind if I just kill this girl then, huh? After all, your pirates are _dispensable_, right?"

Vaas laughed. "Ridiculous. She isn't a pirate. There's no way she could be one of us. No, no, amigo; what you hold is my property. She's mine. And I suggest you give her back right now."

"I'm not your fucking _amigo_," spat Headband. It was getting hard to breathe with his death grip on my shoulder and shirt, and the knife at my neck. Not to mention I was scared silly. "You tell me where she is, asshole!"

"Vaas, just give him what he wants," I yelped, startling Headband into pressing the knife deeper, drawing a bit of blood. I winced but was too strung-up on adrenaline to really let the pain sink into my system. "She's just one person."

"Damn it, don't damage the goods," said Vaas, seeing a small line of blood slowly inch down my neck. "She's worth a pretty penny, you dense fuck."

"Give me back Analyn and you can have your whore!"

My eyes flared. I was feeling sorry for him at first, but now he just put me on his bad side. He did _not_ just call me bad name.

Just then, I heard some footsteps behind us. The door guy cried out, "Boss, look out!"

Headband turned, bringing me with him, but my eyes were locked on Vaas. A slight snarl graced Vaas's features as he held his gun a little higher and pulled the trigger. The bullet went whizzing by me to hit Headband in his side. He cried out and flung me away from him. I tumbled to the ground but scrambled away quickly. Somehow I suddenly found myself being pulled up by Bayani. Where the hell did he come from?

Another shot rang out and the door man fell limp. Headband yelled and shouted in pain as Bay and I quickly ran back to Vaas's side.

Laughing, Vaas came up to him, still pointing the gun. "You shouldn't have taken my property, amigo. What's mine is mine, not yours."

"_I'm not your fucking_—"

Vaas knelt down and stuck his pistol in Headband's mouth. "Hey, you say that one more time, one more _fucking_ time, and I swear you die right here and right now. You get me? Huh? I said _do you get me_?" Headband choked out some sort of reply. Vaas just stared at him for a few seconds, letting his threat sink in. Bayani cut the bonds on my wrists, and I tossed them away, massaging my wrists. I nodded my thanks to him and watched the scene with wide eyes.

Vaas slowly stood back up. "Good. I'm glad we have an understanding." He looked around the camp. "It looks like you're the only one left. And you know what? I _do_ remember that bitch you were talking about. I sold her about a month back. Got a very good price for her. Used the money to buy booze for me and my men." Headband's face fell. "And because you insulted me and stole from me, I'm going to let you live so you can suffer. See what you've done is wrong. Get me?" He put away the pistol. "May want to get that bullet wound looked at," he turned to leave, "_amigo_."

I almost felt bad for Headband, watching him stare after us with this terrible hate in his eyes, but he did just try to kill me. I know he was only trying to get his friend back, but… he was a Tito in this situation. Vaas clapped an arm around my shoulders and led me to one of the jeeps. He was silent as everyone followed suit and packed back up into the cars. He was silent even as we drove back to the camp. You know, he didn't even look at me once the way back, either.

I wasn't sure if I wanted to say thanks or to just stay silent this time. I was actually scared. I mean, I know he wasn't going to shoot me, that was for sure.

Or… or was it?

Bay said we were dispensable. What if Headband had tried to call his bluff, and Vaas shot me to get to Headband anyway? Would he have done that? I mean, I know it wasn't like we were best friends or anything, but it still freaked me out that he could play with my life so easily like that.

He finally talked when we got out of the car when we reached camp again. "Come with me." The way he said it scared me. He didn't say it happily or seductively or anything; he said it as if I was about to get yelled at. _Which… was probably what was going to happen_, I thought as I followed him back to the main building. Great. I had already had enough of Bay yelling at me, showing me my mistakes, but Vaas? I could barely hold a conversation with the guy. How the hell could I withstand his anger?

He held the door to his office open for me and closed it behind us. I swallowed and stood in the center of the room, not daring to look at him. I waited for him to say something as he slowly walked around me and stood at his desk. He put his hands down on it and stared at me.

I didn't look at him. I didn't want to see the look he was giving me. Damn it, I felt so _guilty_ and he hadn't even said anything yet!

"Honestly, do you think you're invincible?" he asked coldly. I shuddered. "Do you think you are unbeatable? Do you think you're better than this jungle? Huh?" He tilted his head. "Why didn't you listen to me?"

I still didn't say anything. He sighed and grabbed a cup on his desk and hurled it at the wall, smashing into pieces. It made me jump and finally look up at him with wide eyes.

"Damn it, I told you to take someone with you!" he shouted. The crazy look was back in his eyes, and it was both terrifying and dangerously attractive. "This place will eat you up, bones and all. It ain't home! How many mother _fucking_ times do I have to tell you, huh?" He came around the table and stood in front of me, looking me in the eye. "When the hell are you going to listen to me?" I took a step back, but he followed me. I took another step back, and once again, he followed. He had me at the wall again. I swallowed once more. "Do you think you can escape it? Huh? Is that what you think?"

I shook my head slightly. "I… I didn't think that—"

"You're right. You _didn't_ think. That was your problem."

"I'm sorry, I just—"

"Look, when I tell you to do something, you had better fucking do it. I told you that you don't get special privileges. I don't want to treat you like this, but if you keep making these idiotic mistakes, you're going to get yourself killed. And I don't associate with people who are stupid enough to get themselves killed. You're still a prisoner. I own you. I mother fucking _own_ you. All right?"

I frowned. "I… all right. I get it."

He still looked mad, but after I had accepted it, I saw something different in his eyes again. I swore it was anger, but… maybe it wasn't. It looked like anger, but it actually looked more like… hunger.

He took another step towards me, and this time instead of scaring me, the look in his eyes… excited me. The fear of him, the power of him, thrilled me.

His lips were at mine. It happened so fast that I almost didn't even notice it. At first it felt like it was just a mocking kiss, a way for him to prove his dominance over me, but it quickly turned into something else. I gladly welcomed the kiss and furthered it. He stepped closer once more, holding my body against the wall with his.

I couldn't keep my arms at my sides anymore. I didn't care if it wasn't okay, but I didn't give a shit. I reached up and held him closer to me, running one hand up the back of his neck to run it through his Mohawk. I could already feel my heart rate and breathing increasing; with each kiss we took, it increasingly became more and more fast paced.

His hands had snaked their way across my back and were rubbing my back up and down, pressing me, holding me closer to him. He held the dominant role in the kiss, forcing me against the wall and himself at the same time. He forced his tongue into my mouth, but I accepted it. Fuck, this is exactly what I had been holding out for all along. All coherent thoughts slowly slipped away as my needs were taken over by some deep, primal sexy instinct. All I could think about was him. All I could taste was him. All I could smell, hear, and _be_ was him. It was glorious.

I grabbed a handful of his hair and tugged it a little, becoming adventurous; a small grunt escaped his lips, and I could tell it was the right move because he became even more forceful with his actions. His hands found their way under my shirt and he gave my boobs a quick squeeze and my chest a once-over before breaking our kiss and pulling my shirt off me. I obliged and tossed it away as quickly as I could. We got back into the kiss, but it wasn't fair for me to not have a shirt on with his still on, so I mimicked his actions and pulled his shirt up over his chest. We broke our kiss again, but only long enough for him to pull the red tank over his head and drop it on the floor.

I didn't even have time to greedily look over his body before his mouth was at mine again, his tongue invading. I remember vaguely being aware of the heat passing between us, the feel of his warm skin on my own. I wanted more; no, I _needed_ more.

He kissed down my cheek and down my neck, his facial hair tickling my skin a little. He only hesitated to unhook my bra and rip it off me before he got back at it. I let my eyes roll back a little before I closed them, biting my lip as he kissed down my chest to my breasts, licking and sucking and nipping a little, using a hand to play with the other one. I could only breathe and hold myself up with the wall as he played with me, toyed with me. It was so fucking hot, and I felt like would go insane if this lasted much longer.

He kissed his way back up my chest, up my neck, up my cheek to my ear. I really bit down on my lip when he licked my earlobe and started sucking on it. His hands snuck their way back down my back again, under the top of my pants, to grab a handful of my ass, making me gasp a little. He took the opportunity to make his way back to my lips and force his tongue into my mouth again.

I could feel a low, feral growl in his chest, and it was hot. He let go of my ass and wrapped his arms around my waist, hoisting me up. There was a strong need for something hard between my legs, so I wrapped them around him and he held me against the wall, kissing me, wishing for more.

That didn't last for long. Holding me against him with one hand, he walked us to his door, still kissing. Keeping my eyes closed, focused only on making out with him, I remember I vaguely thought to myself, "Wow. I can't believe that this is happening right now. _To me_."

I felt a bed beneath my back; cracking an eye, I saw that he had taken us to his room and dropped me on the bed. He climbed on top of me, a hand still on my lower back, positioning me beneath him. As we kissed, ground against me a few times, just testing. It felt so good to me, and I knew it was only a matter of time before our pants came off, too. Too many layers of clothing. Way too many for my liking.

Great minds think alike. His hands had moved down to my pants, unbuttoning them. The need for him was steadily growing, and I was practically shaking with anticipation. While he undid my pants, I sat up a little and started to undo is, helping in the process. It was going too slow for my liking, because I wanted him; I wanted him _now_.

He yanked my pants down and off my ankles, throwing them and my underwear to the side. He took a moment to look me over. He still had that deep, insatiable hunger in his eyes that only made me want him more. Just to play with him, I gave him a sexy smirk. It did exactly what I wanted it to; it fueled the hunger in his eyes and he quickly turned and pulled his pants and boxers down, tossing them away.

I really couldn't fucking do anything but stare. He was of average length, but he was thick. I bit my tongue and took a breath as he bent down to meet me. I met his eyes for a second before they closed and his lips were at mine again. The fervor with which he kissed me matched that insane starvation in his eyes.

I took in a breath, still in disbelief that this was happening, when I felt him just start to poke at me. I could feel him there, and I wanted—_needed_—him to be inside of me. My eyes slid shut in anticipation again. I was so attracted to him that I was already wet as fuck; I was glad he hadn't messed around with any foreplay. I would have been over and out before I could have blinked.

I gasped once more, my eyes shooting open, when he pushed inside of me for the first time. I let the breath out in a moan, loving every second of the feeling of him inside me. He grunted too, finally breaking our kiss, his lips at my shoulder. One arm was wrapped around my shoulders, the other on my ass, pulling me up to bury himself deep inside me. I closed my eyes tight and let out a whimper, the sweet pain of his cock deep inside me.

Slowly he pulled back, and I craved him again. He thrust forward into me again, and every feeling that I just had come back twice over. Fuck, I was in pure bliss. But still, I wanted more. "Do it," I said breathlessly, kissing his shoulder, my hands in claws, scratching his back in pleasure.

He gladly complied, pulling out and thrusting back in, out and in, each time sending a wave of further need up my body. I couldn't get enough of him. _More, more_ my body screamed. He quickly set up a rhythm, rocking back and forth, the bed creaking under us.

After a while, I started to feel it. That slight pinpoint of need and pleasure that so slowly and yet so quickly grew; I was going to cum, and damn I knew it was going to be one of the best orgasms I had ever had. A strange taste formed on the back of my mouth and my tongue went numb a little. I lost more and more of my thoughts as each thrust he made garnered a grunt from him and a gasp from me. The pinpoint grew and grew, and he pushed and thrust, and suddenly, I wrapped my legs around him and pulled him closer, rocking with him. The pinpoint of pleasure expanded and exploded through my body, and I cried out in pleasure, arching my back to meet him. I saw stars in front of my eyes, and holy fuck, _shit_, I had never felt anything better in my entire life. He rode me as hard as he could, prolonging my orgasm as I raked my nails down his back, moaning the entire time with my release.

And just like that it was over for me, but he still kept going. My orgasm had only turned him on even more, and I could tell that he was just as close because of the way he raked his own hand down my back.

It only took a short amount of time of a furious rocking rhythm before his mouth opened with a slight gasp and a grunt. I continued to kiss up and down his shoulder and neck as he gave one final thrust, back arched beautifully.

We stayed like that for a little bit, panting and gasping for breath, before he pulled out of me, sending a shiver up my body. He rolled over and lay next to me, eyes closed.

I looked over at him, panting, just watching him. Watched his chest rise and fall, a faintly smug look of pleasure on his face. I turned to face the ceiling again and let my own eyes close as I caught my breath.

I felt like I was glowing. I felt on top of the world. Shit, I was just fucked by the hottest man I had ever seen, and damn was he good. I had never felt that kind of pleasurable release before from any other guy I had been with. Felt like I had been missing out all this time or something. Like I had just been changed into something else, moved onto a higher state of being.

I felt some great sense of belonging. No longer the ugly duckling. I was the beautiful swan that knew where its place was; everything felt right at that point. Nothing could break this moment for me.

Shit, if this is how Vaas was going to treat me when he got mad at me, I'd have to make him mad a _lot_ more often.

* * *

**A/N: Heh heh heh. ;] **

**See you next Friday!**


End file.
